The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has achieved another set of strong results in the fourth iteration of the Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF4), outperforming its peers in both research partnerships and collaborating with businesses.
The Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF) assesses the different ways in which Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) work with external partners, from businesses to community groups, for the benefit of the economy and society. The KEF4 results are also a useful source of information for HEIs to better understand, benchmark and improve their own performance.
The RVC is categorised within the “STEM Cluster” which groups specialist science, technology, engineering and mathematics institutions which often produce large amounts of quality research, particularly in bioscience, veterinary science and engineering.
The RVC was awarded the top two scoring categories for 9 of the 16 identified measures. Within the highest quintile (very high engagement) were research partnerships and working with businesses, exceeding the STEM cluster average. The RVC was also ranked as having high engagement in local growth and regeneration.
Jo Bailey, head of knowledge exchange and commercialisation at the RVC, said: “It is always pleasing to receive recognition for our collaboration with industry and other third sector partners through which we are ensuring the research undertaken here at the RVC has an impact worldwide.”
The RVC’s results highlight the emphasis the institution places on successfully translating clinical practice and research into new innovations and treatments. In 2022/23, the RVC reported £9.3 million in research and innovation income and performance remains strong, with collaborative research grants and contracts projected to exceed this for the financial year 2023/24.
Additionally, the RVC’s wholly owned subsidiary company, London Bioscience Innovation Centre Ltd (LBIC), recently acquired the APEX building, providing an additional 37,000 sq ft of innovation space, bringing further industrial research collaboration opportunities to the RVC in the areas of animal-human healthcare. You can find more information about KEF4 here.
