The KEF Perspectives

Now in its fourth year, the KEF aims to capture the diverse ways English universities continue to engage with society and the economy. 

The KEF groups institutions with similar characteristics into clusters and records knowledge exchange engagement levels across seven ‘Perspectives’. Durham University is in Cluster X.

What we achieve together

Durham is a world-leading university, and proudly part of North East England. Our knowledge exchange activities help create impact - from inspiring learning to sharing our facilities; from driving economic growth to helping our region become more sustainable. 

We work with partners to drive investment, innovation, job creation and development, and the adaptation of our economy for the challenges that lie ahead.

We are actively engaged with our local communities to tackle inequalities and embrace new opportunities through our impactful research, innovation and investment to transform lives for the better. 

We also have a strong focus on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which provide a blueprint to achieve a more sustainable future. We have mapped the SDGs onto our research, teaching, wider student experience and global activities. We ensure that the benefits of a world-leading university are shared not just regionally but globally.

Working in partnership

We produce and disseminate research that has a positive impact on global, national and regional challenges, and which benefits culture, society, health, the economy and the physical environment.

We work closely with a variety of external partners including local, national and international businesses, the government and third sector and the NHS, positioning them at the forefront of innovation by providing opportunities for joint research, consultancy, and access to our cutting-edge equipment and facilities.

Supporting businesses and local growth

Our award-winning Durham Internships & Collaborative Enterprise (DICE) project in partnership with Business Durham provided an integrated package of business and enterprise support to improve business innovation, increase graduate retention, increase the number of scalable start-ups in the region, and facilitate collaborative partnerships. The four strands of support included:

• SME Internships Programme provided valuable work experience opportunities for our students by placing them in local SMEs.
• Durham City Incubator, which allows new businesses to access a range of detailed support as they start out.
• Durham Venture Lab has boosted enterprise support to students and graduates giving them an in-depth experience of entrepreneurship and new business development. Over the past year, the Venture Lab has engaged with almost 1,000 students and created 34 start up businesses.
• Orbit University Enterprise Zone at NetPark, one of the UK’s leading science and technology parks, provides flexible office space and tailored support and guidance for science and technology SMEs and university spin-outs.

Commercialising our research

Northern Accelerator is an exciting collaboration between the North East’s universities, to support high quality spin-out businesses and create real-world impact from world-leading research.

Northern Accelerator has transformed the commercialisation of research in the North East, making a significant contribution to the region’s economy. To date 47 spin-out businesses have been created through the programme’s support model, with many now based in innovation clusters at Newcastle’s Helix and County Durham’s NETPark.

An external evaluation forecasts that Northern Accelerator will have added an additional £140m to the value of the North East economy by 2030, measured in GVA. That contribution to the region’s economy is well underway, with spin-outs from the partner universities raising over £100m investment in the last five years and currently employing over 650 people.

Graduate start-ups

Durham University has a mission to deliver an ambitious student and graduate enterprise service with a focus on purpose driven innovation. Our start-ups are pushing the boundaries of what is possible to make the world a better place.

Venture Lab

Inspiring the next generation of purpose driven innovators, the Hazen Venture Lab is a dedicated co-working space for our aspiring entrepreneurs. Students can access specialist advice and mentoring sessions, much of which is supplied by the University’s global alumni network. Students also have the opportunity to develop their skills through workshops, networking opportunities, and participate in start-up pitching events. 

Public and community engagement

The knowledge shared by our researchers has informed significant exhibitions and public engagement events. For example:

• Our extensive libraries and special collections are a treasure-trove of over 70,000 books published before 1850, manuscripts, maps and photographs. Meanwhile our museums, galleries and exhibitions include more than 100,000 objects – and growing!
• We welcome visitors across the year to our public exhibitions, through our regular engagement with schools and from scholars and members of the public.
• Our Institute for Computational Cosmology has inspired a number of installations at the renowned biennial light festival Lumiere, using the arts to showcase science in new ways.
• The North East Raising Aspiration Partnership, which includes all five North East universities, won a national Widening Access Partnership of the Year Award. This important project supports care-experienced students to access university. Currently less than two per cent do so. We’re working to change that.

Volunteering

Durham University Student Volunteering and Outreach (DUSVO) successfully delivers a wide range of volunteering opportunities. We are working with nearly 200 charities and community organisations in addition to offering services to North East schools and hundreds of individuals.

Key stats for 2021/22:

• 1,800 registered volunteers
• 10,000 volunteering hours were recorded by students
• 200 partners, charities and community groups were supported
• 25 student-led volunteering projects
• 1,554 volunteer sessions

Find out more about Durham University Student Volunteering and Outreach