Academic enterprise

Within our academic schools, enterprise means engagement with business, public and voluntary organisations to create social, cultural and economic impact through knowledge exchange.

Innovation covers all of this - and more.

Innovation additionally includes the process of creating and applying new ideas, discoveries and inventions that - through engaging with governments, business and charities - have the potential to deliver societal and / or economic benefit - locally, nationally and globally - as well as the breadth of engagements that are crucial to achieving these positive impacts.

Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nick Jennings, discusses the importance of amplifying the University's research and innovation achievements, and how supporting these areas will help create an impactful eco-system.

Read his VOLUME article

The University Strategy includes the strategic aims to be more ambitious in our research and innovation endeavour and develop meaningful partnerships locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.

Review the strategic aims

Within every school, research expertise can be applied to benefit a range of external partners

For instance, it can help external partners to access new ways of thinking or new processes that can have a positive impact on their business and customers. Working with external partners can also lead to new directions for academic research, industry insights to inform teaching and a potential source of student projects and placements.

Enterprise activities can be a valuable source of additional income, however the real value lies in making a difference and improving people’s lives. The in-kind contributions of external partners can enrich research, and projects delivered together could have really valuable social impact.

Developing multifaceted collaborations

Each school has a dedicated Partnership Development Manager who works closely with the Associate Dean for Enterprise to help develop and strengthen multifaceted collaborations aligned with their priorities related to CALIBRE.

Exchange brings mutual benefit

For external partners this could mean access to new ways of thinking or new processes that have a positive impact on their business and ‘customers’, which can extend to the wider community or industry sector. Benefits to you could include new directions for research, new partners for collaborative projects, industry insights to inform teaching and a potential source of student projects and placements.

Innovation brings income

Innovation activities can be a source of direct income or provide funding to accelerate your research into tangible services, processes and products that benefit external partners.

Our wider innovation ecosystem

Enterprise and innovation activity at the University also spans student and graduate enterprise - as well as activity within academic schools through to the growth and operation of LUSEP, the science and enterprise park. It is a core part of the University Strategy across all themes and strategic drivers.