We're proud to have performed strongly in the first ever national exercise that measures how we share our knowledge and expertise with businesses, charities and community organisations.
The UK's Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF) shows Durham has done extremely well in several high priority areas including research partnerships, intellectual property and our work with public and third sector organisations.
It is through this work that we have created high value jobs and investment in the region, with our top 10 percent performance in commercialisation of research recognising that our approach is working.
Working with partners to deliver real change
As a leading global institution, we're delighted that the KEF outcomes recognise where we excel while giving us an opportunity to learn from others.
In the top 40 per cent for business partnerships, local growth and collaborative research as well as the top 30 per cent for working with the public sector, the results reflect the significant strides we've made in ensuring that our activities have real world impacts that benefit our wider community.
We've invested significantly in supporting spin-outs from our academic community over the last three years through the Northern Accelerator Programme which has spun out 4 companies in the last year alone.
Supporting local growth
We currently lead a number of business support programmes delivering growth and innovation to local firms by encouraging collaboration and engagement. These programmes are focussed on where our research and expertise can make an impact on business success.
Such programmes include our flexible internship programme, industrial PhD support programme and the imminent launch of our University Enterprise Zone Orbit at NetPark - all exemplifying how we continue to support the local innovation ecosystem.
We look forward to continuing our work with partners rooted in the local area and communities, helping them recover from the economic impact of Covid whilst supporting the levelling up agenda in the North East of England.
