University of Wolverhampton’s Surge in Research Partnerships Earns National Recognition in Knowledge

The University of Wolverhampton has maintained its position as one of the top institutions nationally for local growth and regeneration, research partnerships, working with business and the public and third sector, and engaging with the public and community, according to new data.

Research England’s Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF5) looks at the ways universities help to level up their local areas. The university scored very high for local growth and regeneration, and high for research partnerships (moving up from medium), public and community engagement and working with business – placing it at the forefront of the sector and outperforming others in their cluster across multiple metrics.

Wolverhampton also scored “medium” in working with the public and 3rd sector, CPD, and graduate start-ups, meaning that all scores are either “medium” or above, maintaining its performance since last year’s results.

Professor Prashant Pillai, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Exchange, said: “The University’s rise in the KEF rankings for Research Partnerships, in particular, reflects the increasing strength of our collaborations across the public, private and third sectors.

Partnership is at the heart of research at the University of Wolverhampton, and we are proud to see the incredible collaborations we have developed alongside our research partners recognised.”

This recognition highlights the huge amount of work our research community have put in to building valuable partnerships and the significant impact our collaborative research is delivering. It further strengthens our reputation as a trusted partner and will help create new opportunities for collaboration and knowledge exchange.”

Over the past 12 months, the University of Wolverhampton has significantly enhanced its Research & Enterprise support, establishing a dedicated team to drive forward new partnerships and create opportunities for collaborative research and development.

Recent highlights include:

• The Green Innovation Corridor – a £27 million collaborative initiative led by the City of Wolverhampton Council in partnership with the University. This landmark innovation district, based in the heart of Wolverhampton, will focus on green construction, computing, and engineering.
• The Beyond Futures Festival and Awards – an annual celebration that brings together around 900 participants from across the public, private, and third sectors. The event showcases research and enterprise excellence while fostering new partnership opportunities.

To explore the KEF5 results and learn more about how the framework works, visit https://kef.ac.uk