Herts’ research partnerships and impact on local growth recognised in latest Knowledge Exchange Framework

The Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF), which scores universities on how well they work with partners for the benefit of the economy and society, awarded Herts its highest ranking for local growth and regeneration and research partnerships.

Now in its fourth year, the Research England framework clusters universities that are similar in terms of size, research activity, portfolio, student population and relationships with industry together, and ranks them in five quintiles against the rest of the sector, from “very low engagement” to “very high engagement.” Herts is one of 29 institutions grouped into Cluster E, alongside the likes of Anglia Ruskin, Nottingham Trent, Oxford Brookes, Kingston, and Portsmouth.

The University scored above its cluster average in four out of the seven categories in the framework and met the average for the remaining three. Herts was awarded the highest ranking of “very high engagement” for its activities focused on research partnerships and driving local growth and regeneration.

KEF4 also awarded the ranking of “high engagement” to the University for its work around intellectual property (IP) and commercialisation, based on income from IP, and investments in spinout companies. This comes after the successes of Herts-supported biotech company ImmunONE, which created a model of a human lung to test inhaled medicines and spray-on products like fragrances, and the Healthcare Technologies Capabilities Connector (HTCC), a partnership between Herts, Imperial College London and Cranfield University that fast-tracks healthcare technology innovations.

Herts’ work with business, and the public and third sector, was also ranked as having “high engagement”, and it also met the cluster average for its public and community engagement.

Through the KEF, Research England has recognised Herts’ strong Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) portfolio and our other successful collaborative research partnerships. These include:

• The Herts Science Partnership programme: is one of a range of initiatives which contributes to Herts' support for over 4,000 local businesses annually via our University Enterprise Zone (UEZ), our business incubator and sister company Exemplas. The University’s Public Engagement strategy, which sets out how it works with communities locally, regionally and globally to share the benefits of higher education and research, has also contributed to its success.

• C4 Carbides: Through a series of Innovate UK-funded Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, this ten-year collaboration has transformed C4 Carbides from a niche manufacturing Small to Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) into a global leader in the diamond cutting sector, with the company directly attributing £11.5 million of its gross profits over the period to the research collaboration.

• Ziath: The University partnered with the biotech company to provide expert support with the development and commercialisation of the first portable biospecimen 2D barcode tube scanning device that uses AI technology. The resultant product has been so successful, that the company has seen a 20% rise in revenue in the first year since launch alone.

Professor Wendy Wills, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise, said:

“This is another strong year for the University of Hertfordshire. Our University demonstrates time and time again its benefit to the local and national economy, its real-life impact through research and its ability to transform lives, and it’s fantastic to see this reflected in this year’s results.

“Our continuing impact would not be possible without our staff, whose knowledge, expertise and hard work supports knowledge exchange here at Herts. I would like to express my thanks to all our staff and particularly to everyone involved in the submission this year.”

The University of Hertfordshire is an institution with enterprise at its core, renowned for supporting the growth of our local and regional economy. Read more about the services and support available or see more KTP case studies on the website.