Graduate start-ups get Solent boost

An annual analysis of the way universities engage with communities and impact economies, KEF data provides insights which institutions can use to adapt and evolve their offering.

The latest results show Solent remains among the best in its cluster – a grouping of smaller universities with a teaching focus – for the delivery of CPD training and graduate start-ups.

Solent has a long-standing reputation for boosting freelance, self-employment and new business ideas among its community, regularly appearing in top ten lists for graduate start-ups. The University has been recognised for delivering ‘very high engagement’ in this area and was also ranked above average in more than half of the categories in their cluster, including research partnerships and community engagement.

Solent’s Pro Vice-Chancellor Research, Academic Strategy and Planning, Professor Cathy Barnes, says:

“Being a practice-led, TEF triple gold university, we are dedicated to delivering a platform for our graduate community to succeed, and I am delighted to see that for the fourth consecutive year, Solent has ranked very highly against other universities for our short course and graduate start-up provision.

“We are working closely with our Southampton and Hampshire partners to ensure we provide short courses which will improve regional prosperity, and we plan to build and expand on this excellence in the future to further help boost skills and good jobs across the region.”

This year’s KEF data shows Solent as a civic university excelling in its priority areas; providing a springboard to success for students and graduates. Passionate about making a real-world impact through high-quality teaching and research, Solent is now developing its Strategy 2035, which will not only continue this activity, but evolve it.

Supporting its community to turn ideas into reality is in Solent’s DNA, with many graduates going on to launch successful freelance careers and businesses, often in the competitive creative industries.

Ross Chapman, a graduate who has launched several businesses and helps start-ups get off the ground, credits the University for nurturing his talent: “Studying at Solent provided me with a fantastic set of skills and knowledge, which I have since gone on to apply in running my own business.”