The University of Southampton has again been recognised as one of England's leading universities for business and public engagement in the latest Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF).
In the sixth annual assessment exercise, Southampton retained its top scores in five of the seven areas, or 'perspectives', assessed, placing it as joint third in the sector, alongside Queen Mary and Birmingham universities.
The University received the top rating, 'very high engagement', for public and community engagement; intellectual property (IP) and commercialisation; working with business; and working with the public and third sector. It achieved 'high engagement' for local growth and regeneration and 'medium engagement' for research partnerships and continuing professional development (CPD) and graduate start-ups.
Professor Mark Spearing , Vice-President (Research and Enterprise), welcomed the results: "I am delighted that the KEF6 evaluation shows the University continuing to perform very strongly across the KEF perspectives.
"Knowledge exchange and enterprise are a core strand of our triple helix strategy, and they continue to be a key strength. They are also increasingly important for our financial sustainability, the regional and national economy, and society."
Diana Galpin, Director of Enterprise and Knowledge Exchange, noted that the two areas rated 'medium engagement' were key priorities for improvement within the University's Knowledge Exchange and Enterprise (KEE) and Research Strategic Plans.
"Developing our Continuing Professional Development offering presents a significant opportunity and we are making excellent progress towards implementing the CPD Hub to support its growth.
"Our score for Research Partnerships has improved slightly since KEF5, reflecting our efforts to increase cash contributions from business partners alongside public funding for collaborative research but it remains a priority.
"Improving both these areas will support the University's financial sustainability into the future."
The University of Southampton's KEF6 results can be viewed on the Research England website .
