Coronavirus (COVID-19): Update for businesses and external stakeholders

The University of Brighton is a community of over 21,000 thinkers, entrepreneurs, researchers, educators and innovators. We are working with our range of valued partners to create, apply and put knowledge to work. Given the challenges we are all facing from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic our ways of working with you will need to adapt, but we are committed to continuing in our endeavours to make a difference. 

Finding innovative ways to connect and work together in partnership with others will be crucial to help us all in this challenging period. For instance, we are already in discussions with the regional NHS bodies to look at how we might make some of our facilities available to them as part of their contingency planning. We are also working hard to ensure we can continue to support and work with you virtually during this time.

In line with the UK government’s latest advice on COVID-19, most university buildings (with the exception of residential halls) are now closed and all events have been cancelled until further notice.

We have moved to remote working across all of our functions, and continue to support our students through remote teaching, learning and assessment. This means that our current students will be able to progress as appropriate, and final-year students will be supported to achieve their degrees this year, subject to meeting the required academic standards.

We are working closely with the relevant authorities at a local and national level, including funders and regulators, to monitor the wider situation. This includes everything from how to manage applications responsibly to how to release our health, social work and medical students to work in the NHS and social care services.

These are challenging times as we all continue to adapt to these unprecedented circumstances but we remain open for business, and invite you keep an eye on this page and our social media channels as we develop new mechanisms to support businesses.

For advice on existing relationships with the university, please see below. If you have an enquiry that is not addressed, please contact our Business Helpdesk at businesshelpdesk@brighton.ac.uk.

At a time of unprecedented challenges, the university is committed to supporting its partners and the wider business community in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Supporting businesses

In addition to responding to fast-track research calls, we have partnered with Coast to Capital and Business East Sussex to run a free four-part webinar series called Business Resilience and Recovery Webinar Series. You can also take a look at the ways we are working with SMEs.

Civic response 

Our contribution on PPE production, equipment donation, NHS workforce, hand sanitiser production, volunteering:

• University staff have returned to campus to produce and distribute vital face shields and visors to the NHS.
• The university has donated a range of safety equipment including face masks, visors, disposable gloves and hand sanitiser to healthcare providers throughout Sussex.
• Final-year medical students at Brighton and Sussex Medical School take their final assessments early so they can enter the NHS workforce as newly qualified doctors.
• Medical School donates personal protective equipment to Royal Sussex Hospital and local GP surgery.
• Academics go back to their lab to produce much-needed hand sanitiser for use by local front line NHS staff.
• Students are volunteering to help the vulnerable during the COVID-19.
• Academics are working with doctors to understand the challenges that Covid-19 patients admitted to intensive care experience in communicating with healthcare workers.
• Article published in the TES magazine (formerly Times Educational Supplement, subscription required), Dr Page, Senior Early Years Lecturer in the University of Brighton’s School of Education, offers advice for early years professionals on place of ‘love, care and intimacy’ in filling the gap in the English early years system. See: https://www.brighton.ac.uk/news/2020/show-children-professional-love
• Academics help improve Coronavirus patient experience of intensive care, working with doctors to understand the challenges that COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care experience in communicating. See: https://www.brighton.ac.uk/news/2020/university-will-help-improve-coronavirus-patient-experience-of-intensive-care
• Dr Alan Richardson is working with hospitals to support the recovery of patients who have received intensive care treatment for coronavirus. Study is in conjunction with University of Brighton and Brighton and Sussex Medical School alumnus Dr Todd Leckie and Intensive Care consultant Dr Luke Hodgson, who both work for the Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust at Worthing Hospital. See: https://www.brighton.ac.uk/news/2020/monitoring-recovery-from-covid-19

For the latest information and advice for businesses visit:

• Government updates on support available for businesses
• British Chambers of Commerce website 
• FSB website for advice for small businesses
• Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) Hub
• Coast to Capital Growth Hub
• South East Business Hub