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2015-16 HIGHLIGHTS Council of Leaders
Membership
68 Vice-Chancellors, 7 Chairs, 25 CEOs, 2 Presidents, 4 Vice-Presidents and 12 managing partners and senior executives.
56 businesses, 68 universities. 20% year-on-year growth.
Policy Impact References to programmes and research in parliamentary debates, HE White Paper and government reviews, including Dowling, Shadbolt, Wakeham and select committee reports.
Digital Platforms Web traffic grew over 100%. Alpha live launch of konfer.online, an innovation brokerage platform, and a prototype of BrandU, our work experience app.
www.ncub.co.uk
Change Programmes Growing Value Scotland and Leading Food 4.0 Summit.
Publications 14 research and programme reports.
Board Appointment of new Chair, Sam Laidlaw, former CEO of Centrica and Executive Chair, Neptune Oil and Gas.
A Year in Review 15/16 | 2015/16 HIGHLIGHTS
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CHAIRMAN’S INTRODUCTION In these extraordinary times, it is ever more important that universities and businesses are inspired to work together for growth and prosperity. The National Centre’s goal is to be the pre-eminent membership organisation for higher education and business and we have continued to grow to achieve that ambition. We continue to strengthen links between businesses and universities in the talent agenda, helping to ensure that universities deliver the skills that businesses of the future require and graduates know where to go for jobs. In the research and innovation agenda, critical for Britain’s productivity and competitiveness, we are also strengthening the collaboration so that businesses large and small can better understand how to access and help fund the vital research and innovation capability that exists across our universities.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW I would like to thank our membership for their fantastic support though the year. I would also like to thank our Board of Directors. We have been fortunate in being able to attract a strong cross representation of high calibre business, industry and higher education leaders and their insight has been valuable in guiding the National Centre. I extend a special thanks to the outgoing Chairman, Richard Greenhalgh, for his dedication, insight and wisdom, and to Professor Sir Eric Thomas, Dame Julia King, Sir Nigel Thrift and Sir Richard Lambert who retired from the Board during the year for their great contributions.
Sam Laidlaw Chairman
Three years after we were established, thanks to our members and staff, the National Centre is going from strength to strength. We are committed to being the pre-eminent membership organisation for business-university collaboration, and we increased our membership by twenty percent in 2015-16. The National Centre now represents the collaboration needs of all business sectors and types of universities across the UK, and we thank the four higher education funding councils, Research Councils UK and Innovate UK for their support in establishing the Centre. Our ambition to be a high profile, independent research voice was strengthened by a series of reports commissioned by our public funders and in response to our members. We are the only employer representative in the HE sector review of destinations and outcomes for leavers and were cited in all the major government reports on skills and innovation. The National Centre is on track to become the digital home of business-university engagement across skills, talent development and innovation. In 201516, we made down-payments on this ambition with the launch of konfer.online, a brokerage platform
A Year in Review 15/16 | CHAIRMAN’S INTRODUCTION
encompassing every university in the UK, funded and supported by the Research Councils, HEFCE, and Innovate UK. And we worked with eight partner universities to deliver a working prototype of BrandU, a work experience app that has enormous potential. We continue to deliver practical programmes for change for sectors and across the UK. Our Food 4.0 Task Force was endorsed by the Rt Hon George Eustice, Minister of State for DEFRA, and Scotland’s Deputy First Minister, John Swinney commended our Task Force on Scottish innovation. And on behalf of BIS, Innovate UK and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, we launched a Smart Specialisation Hub to support England’s Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs). It has been a strong year for delivery, and I would like to thank everyone who has attended and hosted events, offered funding, given us their time and insights, and, above all, lived the change we all seek to grow the UK and increase prosperity.
Dr David Docherty Chief Executive
A Year in Review 15/16 | CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW
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MEMBERS & NETWORKS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Harnessing the experience of the National Centre’s unique Council of Leaders for the benefit of the UK.
Council of Leaders The Council of Leaders is a high-level business network of Vice-Chancellors and C-suite executives that grew significantly during the year. New business members include Aon UK, AWE, Babcock International, Capgemini, Deloitte, GSK, Lockheed Martin, Magna International, and Unite Group. Nine new university members joined, taking us to 68 and enabling the National Centre to represent all regions and nations across the UK. Sam Laidlaw
Professor Julie Lydon OBE
Chairman, Executive Chair Neptune Oil and Gas
Vice-Chancellor University of South Wales
Professor Janet Beer
Francesca McDonagh
Deputy Chair, Vice-Chancellor University of Liverpool
Group General Manager, Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management HSBC Bank plc, UK & Europe
Professor Julia Buckingham Vice-Chancellor Brunel University London
Professor Anton Muscatelli Principal and Vice-Chancellor University of Glasgow Professor Richard Parker
The strength and diversity of the Council allowed us to establish Specialist Networks in 2015-16.
Vice-Chancellor London South Bank University Phil Smith Chairman UK and Ireland Cisco The Rt Hon. the Lord Willetts
Sir Roger Bone Senior Non-Executive Director
Professor David Phoenix
Research and Innovation Chaired by Professor Sir Adrian Smith, ViceChancellor of University of London and Sir Michael Arthur, President of Boeing Europe.
Skills and Graduate Development Chaired by Professor Helen Marshall, ViceChancellor of the University of Salford and Lucy Lewin, Global Head, Talent, Learning and Culture, Standard Chartered Bank.
Future Leaders Building on the 50 under 30 network, we are expanding the future leaders’ network to help develop the next generation of the Council of Leaders. Digital platforms to support these networks will launch in 2016/17 and will be open to anyone working in our member organisations.
Rolls Royce
A Year in Review 15/16 | BOARD OF DIRECTORS
A Year in Review 15/16 | MEMBERS & NETWORKS
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OUR EVENTS
Creating events to break down barriers, share perspectives and expand collaborations. During the year we held over 20 events including:
Boardroom Breakfasts A unique mix of business and university leaders to network and focus on a particular issue or challenge in small groups.
Sir Philip Hampton Chairman GSK Digital Health
Andrew Duff
Chairman Severn Trent Regional Innovation
Roundtables and Dinners
Networking Events
•• Kings College London
•• State of the Relationship Launch London and Scotland - Spring 2015
Keynote on ’Re-engineering Engineering Education’ by Norm Augustine, former Chairman and CEO, Lockheed Martin and former member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology in the US. •• Chicago Booth Business School The development of Global Graduates. •• Higher Education Funding Council for England Future Challenges for HE.
Sir John Parker
Chairman Anglo American Productivity
Donald Brydon
Chairman Sage Group Entrepreneurship
•• Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Employer focus group on Teaching Excellence and the associated Framework (TEF).
Over 150 delegates celebrated the health of the partnership between universities and business. •• 50 under 30 Network Summit - June 2015 Hosted by Chicago Booth, the network event gave future leaders in academia and business a chance to showcase innovation and approaches to leadership amongst our members. •• Summer Reception and Keynote The Shard - July 2015 Over 100 members gathered to hear ‘The Compelling Combination of Business, Academia and High Technology’ by Ralf Speth, CEO, Jaguar Land Rover.
•• Chairman’s Reception The House of Commons - January 2016 New Chairman, Sam Laidlaw, held a reception, hosted by Lord Baker, for senior representatives from universities, business and the civil service. •• National Survey of Academics RICS - February 2016 Academics discussed the largest survey of its kind, giving a comprehensive picture of the relevance of UK research to the economy and society.
A Year in Review 15/16 | OUR EVENTS
02 11 The National Centre’s digital resources provide high-quality information and advice and enable the scaling up of interactions between universities and business right across the UK.”
A DIGITAL NATIONAL CENTRE
Developing national digital platforms for innovation and graduate talent development.
Digital innovation brokerage - konfer
ncub.co.uk
To help business find and connect to research and innovation opportunities in UK universities, the National Centre is developing a brokerage tool, konfer.online. This links to research, facilities, academics and sites from every university in the UK. Working with the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and Research Councils UK (RCUK), the soft launch at the Chair’s Reception received positive feedback. The launch in alpha live saw exceptional engagement from universities and business.
The continuing popularity of ncub.co.uk demonstrates the increasing demand for information about how universities and business can work together, with nearly 100,000 users across the year and 300,000 page views.
Brokering work experience - BrandU Our research is clear that undergraduates with work experience are more likely to be employed, have increased confidence, attain better classifications of degree, and get a better job faster. To help create a national pool of work experiences, particularly for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, we are developing a work experience platform called BrandU. Supported financially by the Cisco Foundation, we delivered a live working prototype, which we are testing and improving with universities, business and students whilst we raise further development funds.
>workwith To overcome the barriers for business interaction, our new brand >workwith will solve the perennial question of ‘how can I work with a university’ and will be rolled out sector by sector as we secure funding. The >workwiths will be filled with guides, resources and inspiration to help every business who wants to demystify universities. engineering>workwith Funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in response to the Perkins Review of Engineering Skills, the engineering>workwith is a one-stop shop for all engineering businesses on how to work with universities.
A Year in Review 15/16 | A DIGITAL NATIONAL CENTRE
02 13 Our research seeks to change policy and practice for the better, while monitoring progress in collaboration between universities and business, for the whole of the UK and its constituent nations.�
RESEARCH & ANALYSIS
Building a clear and independent evidence base about the role of collaboration.
The National Centre’s research and analysis team is an independent and trusted voice that aims to improve the shared understanding by universities, business and policy makers about innovation, research and graduate skills and talent development. Our research seeks to change policy and practice for the better, while monitoring progress in collaboration between universities and business, for the whole of the UK and its constituent nations. A drive exemplified in the State of the Relationship report. Our expertise was regularly endorsed in government reviews including acknowledgements and actions in the Shadbolt review of computing skills, the Wakeham Review on STEM employability and the Dowling Review on the effectiveness of collaboration between universities and business. We are the only employer representative invited to steer work of the review of destinations and outcomes for leavers from Higher Education.
The Collaboration Progress Monitor A bespoke monitor of activity, showing progress in resourcing, partnering, employment and commercialisation across 16 separate indicators. The National Survey of Academics We led the largest survey of external engagement of academics for the second time, giving unique evidence of motives and incentives for collaboration by academics. Smart Specialisation Hub With the Knowledge Transfer Network, and part-funded by the UK Government and the European Regional Development Fund, we are co-delivering a Smart Specialisation Hub promoting place-based innovation in England. Set up to work with 39 Local Enterprise Partnerships across England, the Hub will support their efforts to prioritise key sectors and make compelling cases for investment.
A Year in Review 15/16 | RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
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PUBLICATIONS 2015-2016
Copies of all our reports can be found on our website: www.ncub.co.uk/reports
Representing members’ interests to government and policy makers. The exchange of early career researchers between universities and business in the UK
Growing Value Scotland - 2nd Report
Representing the views of 10 universities and 10 business about how they can work together to foster mobility of researchers between academia and industry.
Growing Value Scotland - 1st Report Capability, Culture and Change: Growing the value of R&D in Scotland.
OCT’15
Collaboration Progress Monitors
Increasing the offer of work experience in STEM subjects: can demand match supply? Showed a huge undocumented supply from business, as well as a demand from students, for non-traditional placements.
The Innovation Edge: business innovation and university collaboration in Scotland.
A basket of statistical measures tracking the growth, status and nature of universitybusiness collaboration, including: UK, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
DEC ’15
MAR ’16
2015
2017 FEB ’16 National Survey of Academics Reports MAY ’15 State of the Relationship Report 2015 The second annual publication of our flagship report on the quality and quantity of collaborations from our members across the UK.
NOV’15 Talent 2030 Dashboard Tracking progress against 2030 targets of the pipeline of girls into Engineering.
The Changing State of Knowledge Exchange the second largest survey of engagement activities of all academics in the UK with business and the community.
JAN ’16 Student Employability Index Showed graduates believe work experience is vital to future success.
Knowledge Exchange in UK Universities a Panel of Academics 2005-2015 measuring changes in academic engagement over time. Deepening Partnerships how universities work with external organisations.
A Year in Review 15/16 | PUBLICATIONS 2015/16
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CHANGE PROGRAMMES
17 Growing Value
Working with members and funders on long-term programmes to amplify good practice.
Growing Value Scotland convened experts and leaders from industry, academia and public policy to prioritise actions to enhance the value of publicly-funded research and increase university business collaboration. Co-chaired by Rob Woodward (Chief Executive, STV Group plc) and Professor Sir Ian Diamond (Principal & Vice-Chancellor, University of Aberdeen), the Task Force published two research reports during the year under review. The recommendations in the final report were welcomed by Scottish Deputy First Minister, John Swinney, at a cross industry event in May 2016. He said they complemented the Scottish Government’s plans on innovation reform. We jointly hosted two scoping dinners with the Universities of Bangor and Cardiff to establish our newest Task Force: Growing Value Wales. Professor Colin Riordan (Vice-Chancellor, Cardiff University) and Dr Drew Nelson (CEO, IQE) agreed to Co-Chair. Women in Leadership We continue to support the group, led by Rona Fairhead, in exploring
practical actions to increase the number of women in leadership positions in both business and academia, using the strength of university business collaboration.
of entries to our National Engineering Competition for Girls increased by 20%, with 55% more girls taking part. We launched a pilot programme with EngineeringUK to monitor university outreach into schools.
Leading Food 4.0 Marking a year since the Food 4.0 report, the Leading Food 4.0 summit gathered over 100 senior representatives from the agriculture and food sector including The Rt Hon George Eustice (Minister of State for DEFRA), Lord Curry of Kirkhale, Justin King (former CEO Sainsbury’s Plc) and Quintin McKellar (Vice-Chancellor, University of Hertfordshire). Talent 2030 Since the Engineering and Manufacturing Task Force, Talent 2030 annually reviews the percentage of women studying physics and computing qualifications, and the pipeline for entering engineering and manufacturing. The 2015 Dashboard showed disappointing progress yet again. Thanks to sponsors, EDF Energy, Rolls-Royce and PepsiCo, in partnership with Centrica, the number
Digital Healthcare and Healthy Living 2030 This Task Force will be chaired by John Jeans (Chairman, EM Imaging; Chairman, UK Biocentre and advisor to the Prime Minister on Medical Technology); Beverly Bryant (Director of Digital Transformation NHS Digital) and Professor Patrick Johnston (Vice-Chancellor, Queen’s University Belfast). Creative, Digital and IT In partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and others we raised around £8m and worked with over 3,500 creative and digital companies in London and Brighton to implement the findings of our 2010 Task Force report ‘The Fuse’. In January 2016 we, along with the AHRC and all of the universities in the North East together secured £2.2m to develop the Creative Fuse North East.
A Year in Review 15/16 | CHANGE PROGRAMMES 2015/16
NCUB Members and Supporters
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A Year in Review 15/16 | OUR MEMBERS