Kingston University rated among top institutions in England for graduate start-ups

Kingston University has been recognised as one of the top institutions for graduate start-ups in the latest Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF) ratings from Research England.  

The annual KEF ratings provide an overview of how higher education providers are contributing to economic growth and improving society through knowledge exchange activities such as research and industry collaboration.    

The KEF ratings cover seven key areas: local growth and regeneration, research partnerships, working with public and third sector, public and community engagement, working with business, continuing professional development (CPD) and graduate start-ups, and commercialisation of intellectual property.  

In this year’s ratings, Kingston University once again received a ‘very high engagement’ assessment for its CPD activities and the number of graduates starting new businesses. The University was also highly rated for its work with business and efforts to engage the public and local community.  

Dr Martin Davies, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Knowledge Exchange and Innovation, said the results reflect the University’s values. “At Kingston, we pride ourselves on being ambitious, inclusive, innovative and enterprising and it’s wonderful to see these values replicated in this year’s KEF ratings.  

“Our students are ambitious and enterprising showing a real entrepreneurial spirit with thousands of students taking part in hackathons and start-up competitions each year.  

“We’ve worked closely with business to develop our sector-leading Future Skills programme, enabling every student on every undergraduate course to develop the skills employers say they need.  

“Our students work with some of the UK’s largest businesses including the John Lewis Partnership and Adobe to help solve commercial challenges and we actively engage our local community in discussions about the future of the University.  

“We have also launched our KERIs - Knowledge Exchange and Research Institutes – to bring business partners and our academics together to address key challenges in the economy and society. 

“This year’s KEF ratings confirm we’re on the right track and will guide our efforts to further strengthen our knowledge exchange activities.” 

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