Durham University’s research partnerships driving knowledge exchange

Durham University is continuing its strong performance in the Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF). Now in its second year, the results from KEF showcase Durham University’s strengths in research partnerships, commercialising research, local growth and regeneration and working with business, public and third sector organisations.

Colin Bain, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) at Durham University said: “This year’s KEF results reflect the commitment we’ve made in ensuring that our activities have real world impact that benefits our communities and society more broadly.

“Partnership working sits at the heart of our research. We work closely with a variety of external partners including local, national and international businesses, the government and third sector and the NHS, positioning them at the forefront of innovation by providing opportunities for joint research, consultancy, and access to our cutting-edge equipment and facilities.

“It’s fantastic to see our wider knowledge exchange work recognised in the sector, especially in areas such as research partnerships, commercialisation, local growth and regeneration, and our work with business.”

KEF is a national exercise conducted by Research England that measures how universities share knowledge and expertise with businesses, charities, and community organisations. The data, available on the KEF website, informs a series of metrics that look at the performance of English Higher Education Providers (HEPs) from a range of different perspectives.

Looking at research partnerships is one of the focusses of the data, and the depth and breadth of Durham’s research expertise is showcased here. Its contract and collaborative research with non-academic partners has doubled over the last five years and is now worth around £25m per year.

Durham University’s research partnerships once again scored highly. With particular expertise in areas such as surface science, cosmology and energy, the University invests significant resources in building strategic relationships with key partners such as Procter & Gamble that enable it to realise value across multiple areas.

Durham University’s reputation for creating high quality spin-out businesses was reaffirmed in the KEF results. Durham leads on the Research England funded Northern Accelerator programme, a collaboration between the North East’s universities to support spin-out creation.

This programme looks to commercialise research through its pioneering Executives into Business programme, matching academics with business leaders, and supporting and developing a dedicated Venture Capital fund. Since 2018 the programme has helped generate 33 spin-outs, which have created over £100m in investment and produced world-leading research to create real-world impact.

The University also runs a number of business support programmes helping local firms to innovate and grow. This includes partnership working with Durham County Council and New College Durham to provide support for start-up businesses.

Partnership working can be seen in the Durham City Incubator, which allows new businesses to access a range of detailed support as they start out. Other initiatives include Durham Venture Lab which has boosted enterprise support to students and graduates giving them an in-depth experience of entrepreneurship and new business development.

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily