The KEF provides unique and important public information on the diverse ways English universities engage with society and the economy at local, national and international levels.
Knowledge exchange activities help ensure that insights from university research reach and benefit wider audiences through partnerships, training, innovation and commercial opportunities.
The KEF groups institutions into ‘clusters’ of peers with similar characteristics, such as research intensity and subject breadth. Loughborough University is in a cluster comprising large, highly research-intensive and broad-discipline universities undertaking a significant amount of world-leading research.
In the new KEF6 assessment, Loughborough was awarded the highest possible grade, quintile five, for Working with Business, Working with the Public and Third Sector, and IP and Commercialisation, demonstrating ‘very high engagement’ across all three areas. The University also maintained strong performance in Local Growth and Regeneration and Research Partnerships, while improving its performance in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and Graduate Start-ups, moving up one engagement quintile compared with the previous assessment.
The KEF6 results underline Loughborough’s position as a leading university for translating research and innovation into real-world impact. The University continues to outperform the average for its peer group in several key areas, achieving ‘very high engagement’ in three perspectives and demonstrating particular strength in collaborative working with businesses, public bodies and third sector organisations, as well as in the commercialisation of research and intellectual property.
Significant projects in these areas of success include:
Working with Business
Loughborough University is working with rail technology company TrainFX to develop an artificial intelligence-powered system that monitors train carriage occupancy in real time. Developed through a UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP), the technology uses onboard AI and privacy-conscious depth-sensing cameras to provide operators with live passenger data, helping them better manage capacity, reduce overcrowding and improve passenger journeys.
The collaboration demonstrates how university expertise can be applied to real-world industry challenges, translating cutting-edge research in AI and computer vision into a practical solution for the rail sector.
IP and Commercialisation
Loughborough is leading Forging Ahead, a £16 million initiative involving 16 universities across the Midlands that aims to accelerate the commercialisation of research and support the creation of high-growth businesses. Backed by Research England and regional partners, the programme is helping researchers, entrepreneurs and industry partners translate innovative ideas into products, services and new ventures that drive economic growth.
Working with the Public and Third Sector
Through the Collaboratory programme, the University is working with local authorities, civic organisations and community partners across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland to co-design research that addresses real-world local challenges. The initiative supports community-led projects focused on improving wellbeing, opportunity and quality of life across the region.
Discussing the University’s success in KEF6, Professor Dan Parsons, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation at Loughborough, said: “It is fantastic to see these strong results in the latest KEF assessment, highlighting the impact of our knowledge exchange activities across partnerships, innovation and skills development.
“Achieving the highest rating for working with business, working with the public and third sector, and IP and commercialisation reflects the strength of our partnerships and our ability to translate research into real-world impact.
“I am also pleased to see significant improvements in Continuing Professional Development and Graduate Start-ups, demonstrating our growing success in supporting lifelong learning, workforce development and entrepreneurship.
“These results reinforce our commitment to delivering research and innovation that creates positive change and contributes to growth and prosperity locally, nationally and internationally.”