University of Leicester celebrates Knowledge Exchange Framework results
The University of Leicester is celebrating its performance in the latest release of the Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF), published by Research England.
The KEF assesses the diverse activities through which universities engage with non-academic partners, locally, nationally and internationally, and allows universities to benchmark the scale of their activity against the wider HE sector.
The University of Leicester has been identified as having ‘very high engagement’ compared to other universities in these four categories:
- research partnerships
- local growth and regeneration
- working with the public and third sector
- intellectual property and commercialisation
For all of these areas the University sits in the top 20% of Higher Education providers in England and exceeds the average for universities of its size and type.
Leicester also has ‘high engagement’ (top 40% in the country) in a further two categories:
- public and community engagement
- working with business
The latest KEF results allow year-by-year comparison and show Leicester has maintained the very strong performance from last year. The University is also well above average compared to its cluster of similar institutions.
The full results and interactive dashboards are available on the KEF website.
Engaging and positively impacting non-academic partners is central to the University’s strategy. Knowledge Exchange, Innovation and Enterprise are core to our University mission and civic responsibility ensuring that our research and teaching brings benefits to wider society: boosting productivity, jobs and wellbeing in our region, and across the world. Knowledge exchange happens throughout the whole institution and is supported through partnerships with non-academic organisations. Our research institutes and centres enable research-focused knowledge exchange, and major initiatives, such as Space Park Leicester, Heritage Hub and Health Technology Accelerator, provide platforms to increase the scale and ambition of our knowledge exchange.
Professor Phil Baker, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research & Enterprise, said: “Universities are engines of innovation and inspiration, and it is a vital part of our mission that the impact of this is felt in wider society. I’m delighted to see that the University of Leicester continues to perform strongly in our extensive knowledge exchange activities.
“Knowledge exchange is crucial to fulfil our strategy to deliver world-changing research and is the route through which we translate knowledge into tangible benefits for society, the economy, health and the environment. Our performance in this year’s Knowledge Exchange Framework reflects the commitment of our staff and demonstrates that we maintain high engagement with non-academic partners relative to the wider sector and our closest peers.”
Space Park Leicester is a major component of the University’s Knowledge Exchange strategy and is now home to 23 businesses and partners employing more than 200 people. It is dedicated to advancing space-related industries, offering cutting-edge facilities for academic research, business collaboration and technology development. Two spin-outs have been created to date and 200 businesses supported.
Another major example of Knowledge Exchange is the official launch on 12 September of the Museum Data Service (MDS). The initiative, funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) is a collaboration between the University of Leicester, Art UK and the Collections Trust and will consolidate over 100 million museum records for the benefit of the museum sector, as well as researchers and educators. The service provides an accessible platforms for museums to upload and manage their collection records.
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships support businesses to innovate and create new products, services or processes, in partnership with a university. One example is a recent KTP with PJ Care, a specialist neurological care and rehabilitation centre, supporting them to revolutionise its personal care management through the development of a new clinical assessment framework, the Wellbeing in Dementia Inventory. In June this year the project was rated at Outstanding by the funder, Innovate UK.
During 2023-24 the University has better connected our business engagement activities through the cross university ‘Partner Open Door (POD)’ project. This initiative connects key business engagement activities, such as Space Park Leicester, Heritage Hub, Health Technology, the College of Business, Careers and Employability Service and the Research and Enterprise Division, ensuring connection and alignment of effort and that there is 'no wrong door' for partners seeking to work with the university.