Southampton Solent University logo
Southampton Solent University logo

Welcome

Welcome to your one-stop-shop for enabling business growth and development.

From providing learning and training solutions that enable employee development, to co-creating new business solutions that enable your business to achieve its strategic ambitions, our academic and professional service colleagues are here to work with you to find the right solution for you and your business.

We offer a range of free and costed solutions and will always be upfront if there's a cost associated with the work. For our solutions that are free of charge financially, time and resource will still be required from your business to develop a successful solution. Our costed solutions are those that require significant time or resource from the University and in some cases, we can work with you in accessing external funding to cover the costs.  

You can take a look at some of the ways we can work together on this page, or alternatively, be inspired by how we’ve partnered with other businesses of different sizes and across different sectors through the featured case studies.

If you’re unsure where to start, why not tell us a bit about your business and the challenge you are looking to address and we will get in touch to discuss how we can work together.

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Help me solve my business problems

Three people working on a project togetherConsultancy and curricular briefs

Ideal for businesses looking for a new perspective on a project or challenge that currently has limited internal resource. Often a starting point for many businesses, live briefs and consultancy provide an opportunity for you to work directly with our creative student and academic community to tackle your business challenge.

Find out more

Groups of Solent Creatives students working on projectsHelp to Grow: Management

A UK government funded programme to help SME business leaders increase productivity, seize investment opportunities, and grow their business. Delivered over 12 weeks through a mix of online and face-to-face sessions the course is part funded by Government and sees participants develop a bespoke business growth plan.

Find out more

Innovation vouchers

Claim up to £5,000 towards a project. This could include help with specific challenges faced by your business, proof of concept, or service improvement. The value of the innovation voucher is up to £5,000 which is used towards the final costs of the project activity as agreed in your in contract

Find out more

Solent Creatives

Got a creative project that requires extra resource? Maybe you need a photographer or videographer, or have a graphic design project that needs some creative expertise? Our in-house student creative agency promotes paid work from employers that can be undertaken by students outside of their studies - providing the perfect creative solution for businesses of any size by delivering high quality work, while helping students gain real-world experience.

Find out more

 

Workforce development and recruitment

Graduate and student recruitment

From part-time seasonal work to graduate roles, you can promote your employment opportunities for free on our online jobs board. Simply register an account, upload your details and promote your opportunities to our alumni and student communities.

Advertise a job

Placements

Varying in duration to meet the needs of your business, student placements provide you with the chance to benefit from fresh insight while providing our students with an opportunity to apply their academic learning. Placements can provide a great short-term resource for your business while providing an opportunity to develop pipelines of future talent.

Find out more

Two people working on a projectApprenticeships

Apprenticeships are a great way to develop new and existing talent within your business. Covering a range of areas, including digital marketing and leadership, we will work with you, regardless of size, to maximise use of your apprenticeship levy or, for non-levy-payers, claiming 95% of the cost from the government.

Higher and degree apprenticeships

Our impact

Our Solent Engage Awards celebrate the contribution of the University’s external communities, from offering apprenticeships and work experience, to mentoring opportunities and up-skilling for students.

In 2023 we presented eight awards celebrating future leaders, mentoring, civic impact and regional entrepreneurship, among other categories.

Discover more about our winners

Accessing our facilities

Community meeting space

Once a month we make our community meeting space available for use by local charities and community organisations. Perfect for hosting committee or local partnership meetings, workshops, or training for a maximum of 15 people.

Book a meeting space

Specialist facilities

Ideal for businesses who don't want the overheads of expensive equipment, our campus is home to industry-standard facilities which can be hired by businesses. From film studios to 3D printing facilities, take a look at our range on campus.

Browse our facilities

Who we work with

Southampton FC

Solent University and Southampton FC have a long history of working together, enabling student success and developing work ready, world ready, future ready graduates. Located a stone’s throw away from St Mary’s Stadium, the home of the Saints, Solent is proud to be the Club's official university partner. Our priorities are:

  • Growing participation among under-represented communities in football.
  • Attracting, developing, and retaining future talent.
  • Leading impact-driven knowledge exchange and research activity.
  • Telling our story and recognising success.

Find out more

A group of women wearing tabards, playing football

Our advisory boards

Made up of senior leaders from across industry and our civic communities our advisory boards play an active role in informing curriculum development, shaping student success and driving positive graduate outcomes.

Find out more about our current boards.

Business and law Maritime