Essex is one of the top UK universities for partnerships

The University of Essex is once again one of the very best for working with businesses, charities and public services according to the Knowledge Exchange Framework - the Government’s national review of the impact of universities.

The latest Knowledge Exchange Framework shows Essex is 14th out of 139 institutions when taking into account the seven ‘perspectives’ assessed in the review and 4th nationally for ‘working with the public and third sector”.

Other strengths include commercialisation, working with business and public and community engagement.

Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Chris Greer said: “This is a massive endorsement of the work we do at Essex to connect our research to the needs of companies and organisations in our region and beyond.”

Each year Research England completes the review to assess the way universities across the country collaborate with partners, from businesses to community groups, to benefit the economy and society. The framework also looks at support for spin-outs and start-ups supported by universities.

Essex is in the top 50% across all seven perspectives with high or very high engagement in five, ranking third within its cluster of similar research-intensive higher education institutions.

Professor Greer said: “Our business engagement team works incredibly hard in partnership with academics to link our experts to the needs of businesses, public bodies and the third sector.

“We are lucky to have a community of researchers who are enthusiastic about building partnerships to develop new products, improve/evaluate public services and help third sector organisations with the challenges they face.

“We have driven forward a step change in the way we work with partners to find solutions, drive growth and take on social issues.

“We are working with partners in so many ways from supporting health providers to unlock the power of artificial intelligence to delivering insightful data analysis to inform public policy.”

Essex has an incredible track record of delivering innovative projects with partners from award-winning Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) to consultancy and contract research.

Essex is number one in the UK for working with business through Innovate UK’s Knowledge Transfer Partnerships scheme – with over 40 active projects between researchers and companies.

In 2022, Dr Faiyaz Doctor picked up the national KTP Academic of the Year Award at the Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) Awards and this year Essex is up for three more awards.

Essex has also invested £60m in the development of the Knowledge Gateway research and technology park, which is now home to a thriving community of businesses.

Other accolades include the Essex Startups team being highly commended at the National Enterprise Educator Awards in the Entrepreneurship Catalyst category.

Meanwhile, the groundbreaking angel investment platform Angels@Essex pioneered by the University is continuing to help fast-growing businesses and start-ups to secure millions of pounds worth of funding. Most recently playing a crucial part in pioneering driverless car company Conigital secure £500 million in funding.

Economic strategy specialist at Colchester City Council, Karen Turnbull, said: “We are proud of the partnership between Colchester City Council and the University of Essex to support the regional economy and foster entrepreneurship. The University’s Knowledge Gateway including the Innovation Centre has created a valuable focus for fast growing businesses, helped our strategy to widen the business mix in the area and is an important contributor to Colchester's emerging tech strengths. The partnerships the University has developed with local businesses and business organisations is also greatly valued.”

Zoe Gordon, Business Engagement Manager at South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) added: “The University of Essex is helping SELEP drive forward growth in the region and a great example for how a University can support entrepreneurship. We have supported the University to create a vibrant business community at the Knowledge Gateway which is helping businesses grow and thrive, while also developing new employment opportunities and offering new opportunities to benefit from research partnerships with the University.”