15.06.2004
The University of Brighton has been awarded over £4million pounds by the government to work with local business and the community.
Brighton has been given the maximum allowed under the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) to enhance its ability to offer services to business and the community (so-called ‘third stream activities’) in line with government policy for the development of higher education.
Andrew Toal, Head of Business Services at the university said,
“We are delighted with this award. It recognises Brighton’s growing reputation as a university determined to support, and share its expertise with, business and the community.”
In addition to the £3million pounds for its own projects, the University of Brighton will manage a further award of nearly £1million pounds in collaborative projects with a number of partners.
Brighton’s activities will include developing new services tailored to small and medium sized companies and community groups giving them access to university resources and helping to improve business applications of academic research.
Brighton will also lead on a number of collaborative projects. The £1million South East Proof of Concept Fund (SEPOC) will see the university working with Finance South East and partner universities, Kent, Greenwich, Portsmouth and Oxford Brookes to support investment in moving research from concepts to provable and viable business propositions.
Brighton will work with the University of Sussex on the Community Knowledge Exchange which offers significant resources to share expertise and establish community projects. This will draw on the expertise of Brighton’s innovative Community University Partnership Project – set up to foster and further develop partnerships between the university and its local communities.
Brighton will also be a member of a Product Design Knowledge Exchange (led by the University of Portsmouth), to establish a network to share services and knowledge for enhancing 3D product design with small, medium and start-up businesses and a variety of partners.
The intent for a second round of the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF 2) was announced following the Government's 2003 White Paper, 'The future of higher education'.
It continues and develops the work of the first round of HEIF, supporting interactions between higher education institutions (HEIs) and business, and between HEIs and the wider community.
HEIF 2 also incorporates future activities based on current Science Enterprise Challenge and University Challenge initiatives in England. HEIF 2 therefore represents a consolidated ‘third stream’ of funding, complementing core funding to institutions for research, and for learning and teaching – the first ‘two streams’.
HEIF 2 has been established as a partnership between the Department of Trade and Industry/Office of Science and Technology (DTI/OST), HEFCE, and the Department for Education and Skills (DfES).
A total of £187 million will be available over the next two years.
Contact: Marketing and Communications, University of Brighton, 01273 643022
