One of Leicester's many great strengths is the role played by our two excellent universities. Between them, De Montfort and Leicester attract more than 40,000 students to the city.

De Montfort alone boosts the Leicestershire economy by £255 million each year, creating more than 8,000 jobs.

And for inspiration, you only have to look at Europe's biggest academic space research centre, at the University of Leicester.

Both universities are preparing young people with the knowledge and skills they need to contribute to our economy and society as a whole.

They also lead the way in world class research.

At the University of Leicester, Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys invented DNA fingerprinting.

At De Montfort, Professor Joan Taylor has been undertaking revolutionary work to develop an artificial pancreas.

De Montfort is now running a fantastic project called the Square Mile, which aims to help the communities of Newfoundpool, Fosse and Woodgate, which are in my constituency.

Students and staff have been knocking on doors and asking residents what their priorities are for improving the area.

The message has come back loud and clear: People want to see stronger community ties, better facilities and more opportunities to socialise together.

They are concerned about anti-social behaviour and think action is desperately needed to improve dilapidated buildings and other problems with the physical environment.

The project was launched with a Day of Action, which saw volunteers and residents hit the streets to pick up litter and clear overgrown areas.

A community garden was created in Tudor Park and a community café was set up in Rally Park.

Working with the city council, the NHS and other organisations, De Montfort wants to come up with practical solutions to residents' concerns.

So, a team of trainee youth workers has been offering support to young people, a Street Law Service has provided assistance with legal problems, and employment advice has been offered alongside free English lessons.

This is a great project and I'm determined to do my bit to help.

I recently held a public meeting to discuss health issues.

Residents said they wanted services to focus far more on preventing illnesses and not just treating them.

They wanted better access to GPs after work and at the weekend.

Residents were also concerned that older people were too often left isolated without the care and support they really needed.

I'm now going to be working with De Montfort, the NHS and Leicester City Council to act on these concerns.

It is really important that the Square Mile project does not over-promise and under-deliver, but I have been very impressed with what I have seen so far.

The Square Mile Project demonstrates what can be achieved when we all pull together with the support of our great institutions.

I think this could be a model for other universities to follow up and down the country, showing once again how Leicester's universities can help lead the way.