The impact of work at the University of Portsmouth on the country’s business and communities has been ranked among the best in the UK in the latest Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF).
The impact of work at the University of Portsmouth on the country’s business and communities has been ranked among the best in the UK in the latest Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF).
This is the second KEF produced by Research England and it’s a way of measuring the impact universities have on businesses, their community and the wider world.
The KEF results placed Portsmouth in the top 20 per cent of all universities in England for our Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and Graduate Start-Up activities. The University improved and continues to demonstrate strong national performance of knowledge exchange across all the criteria:
- Working with Business - top 40 to 20 per cent
- Working with the Public and Third Sector - top 40 to 20 per cent
- Research Partnerships - top 40 to 20 per cent
- IP and Commercialisation- top 40 to 60 per cent
- Local Growth and Regeneration - top 40 to 20 per cent
- CPD and Graduate Start-Ups - top 20 per cent
Professor Jeremy Howells, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation at the University of Portsmouth, said: “Knowledge exchange is becoming ever increasingly important for universities to ensure research and innovation activities maximise their benefit to society, our economy and the planet. These KEF results demonstrate our achievements of our staff across the full range of knowledge exchange activities benchmarked against other UK universities.”
“Today’s results and other recent performance assessments demonstrate progress towards our long-term ambition to be the top modern UK university and in the top 100 young universities in the world by the end of the decade.”
The KEF compares institutions on a like-for-like basis, with similar institutions being grouped together with their peers in ‘KE clusters’. Portsmouth is in Cluster E, which is described as ‘Large universities with broad discipline portfolio across both STEM and non-STEM generating excellent research across all disciplines’.
The report found the University to exceed the cluster average in over half the KEF criteria, which is a recognition of collaborative projects including the ‘Respect the Water’ campaign with the RNLI, which has saved thousands of lives around the world, and our 10-year relationship with Hampshire Constabulary through The Forensic Innovation Partnership.
It also reflects our excellent performance in delivering Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, such as our relationship with Entec International, our Enterprise Education programme, which is recognised for supporting our students with their entrepreneurial aims, and working with Gosport Borough Council to revitalise and transform the harbour edge of the town.
Sarah Duckering, Director of Research and Innovation Services at the University of Portsmouth, said: “Knowledge Exchange is an essential part of our mission and it showcases a diverse picture of the tremendous work we do locally, nationally and internationally.
“This report allows us to better understand and improve our Knowledge Exchange activities and helps us to support individuals, groups, organisations and business in accessing our world-class knowledge and expertise.”
These results follow excellent outcomes in a number of other recent nationally and internationally recognised rankings:
- Rising 50 places for student satisfaction in The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023, which contributed heavily to the University’s 26-place rise to 62nd in the overall table.
- Going up eight places in The Guardian University Guide.
- Portsmouth was ranked in the top 40 of all universities in England for full-time student satisfaction in the National Student Survey.
- The Graduate Outcomes survey showed an improvement in graduate employment with 94 per cent of Portsmouth graduates in work and/or further study 15 months after they graduated compared to 89 per cent last year.
The KEF sits alongside the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) and the Research Excellence Framework (REF), and together they provide a fuller picture of how universities are performing and what impact they’re having. In the TEF, the University holds the highest possible Gold rating, and in June 2022, it received impressive Research Excellence Framework (REF) outcomes where Portsmouth was ranked third of all modern UK universities for research power in the Times Higher Education REF rankings.