Staffordshire University is in the top 20 per cent of universities which are very highly engaged with CPD and graduate start-ups.
Microcredentials and Knowledge Transfer Partnerships are two initiatives designed to boost skills development and business growth
Helping local people to upskill is part of our DNA and our close working with Staffordshire Chambers, employers, local authorities and college partners is key to this.
This is according to KEF4, undertaken by Research England, which examines the performance of higher education providers and how they engage with society and the economy.
Last year the Knowledge Exchange Framework recognised the significant impact the University was having on supporting graduate start-ups and upskilling the workforce through Continued Professional Development – something it has maintained.
Professor Martin Jones, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive said: “Helping local people to upskill is part of our DNA and our close working with Staffordshire Chambers, employers, local authorities and college partners is key to this.
“Our University has developed a range of microcredentials – bite sized chunks of learning – which are designed around employer needs and target growth areas for jobs. In addition, we are delighted to be one of 25 higher education institutions taking part in the government’s two-year Modular Accelerate Programme to help people gain new skills.”
KEF 4 also shows that Staffordshire University is performing at a high level – in the top 40 per cent - in both local growth and regeneration and working with public and third sector organisations.
Professor Jones added: “Last year we introduced the Staffordshire University Business Awards and Your Heroes awards which has significantly increased our engagement with businesses and the wider community and which helps us to celebrate the great work happening in our region.”
Executive Director of Business Engagement Marek Hornak added: “Knowledge Transfer Partnerships is another way we are actively supporting business growth and innovation in our region. KTPs offers businesses a way to collaborate with the university through the development of new products, processes or services.”
About the Knowledge Exchange Framework
The new dashboards are available on the KEF’s interactive website.
The KEF compares institutions on a like-for-like basis, with similar institutions being grouped together with their peers in ‘KE clusters’. All institutions in receipt of a Research England Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF) allocation in 2023-24 are included in the exercise
KEF results are determined by taking data covering a wide range of a university’s activities, and using this to form a series of metrics. These then go into seven perspectives and a university receives a quintile score for each perspective displayed in relation to the average for its cluster.