A YEAR IN REVIEW
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VISION AND MISSION
The National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB) is a unique public-private partnership that launched in April 2013, building on the twenty-five year history of predecessor body the Council for Industry and Higher Education (CIHE).
AMBITION
Working to make the UK the best place in the world to do university-business collaboration
REMIT
Increasing the volume, quality and intensity of university-business collaboration across the UK
FOCUS
Driving more innovation and effective graduate talent development through collaboration
TOOLKIT
Unique high level business leadership network, digital brokerage and guidance, high quality success stories, independent research and analysis, collaborative change management programmes
SUPPORT
120 corporates and universities, and UK-wide funding from the four higher education funding councils, research councils and Innovate UK
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LEADERSHIP COUNCIL NCUB has a distinctive Leadership Council of university Vice Chancellors, and CEOs, Chairs or Group Directors of FTSE 100 - level companies all drawn from our member organisations. The Leadership Council is a powerful business network uniquely bringing together universities and industry to influence Government and solve the country’s challenges. Members support NCUB through Chatham House-style events, strategy development, Task Force engagement, thought leadership, lobbying and engaging their companies in NCUB programmes.
We are in the middle of a journey today and the key words between business and education must be mutuality and partnerships... I can’t endorse more, and WPP as an organisation can’t endorse more, the role and purpose of NCUB in this country.” SIR MARTIN SORRELL Chief Executive, WPP
A Year in Review 14/15 | INTRODUCTION
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200K OVER 200,000 VISITS TO OUR WEBSITE
OPENING WORDS
NCUB grew strongly in 2014-15. We increased our membership, grew our influence in the media and with Government and opinion formers, delivered on a record number of projects, and produced well-received, high-quality research and analysis. Highlights include: ++ Leading Food 4.0 - our Food Economy Task Force report, chaired by Justin King, formerly CEO of Sainsbury’s and Quintin McKellar, Vice Chancellor of the University of Hertfordshire. ++ Growing Experience - a major review of Computer Science placements for the Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS). ++ The State of the Relationship - the first annual review of the health of the business-university partnership commissioned by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).
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20%
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MEMBERSHIP GREW BY 20%
DIVERSE CROSS-SECTOR PROJECTS
++ Growing Value - Business-University Collaboration for the 21st Century - our first book. ++ Membership is up 20 percent for the year. ++ Over 200,000 visits to our website. ++ Launched the Growing Value: Scotland Task Force chaired by Rob Woodward, CEO of STV and Sir Ian Diamond, Vice Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen.
We enter 2015-16 in strong financial health, with a clear focus on brokerage services – both online and ChathamHouse style, regional innovation, policy-oriented analysis, and programmes aimed at leadership and the gender imbalance in engineering. We thank everyone who has been involved with NCUB in 2014-15, especially our Leadership Council, for their commitment, support and hard work.
++ Growing Impact - a new five year strategy that clarified NCUB’s vision and role. ++ Chatham House-style breakfasts and meetings chaired by, amongst others, the Chairs or CEOs of Anglo-American, Royal Bank of Scotland, The BBC, Legal and General, and STV. ++ Launch of NCUB’s Women in Leadership programme chaired by Rona Fairhead, Chairman of the BBC. ++ NCUB 2014 Annual Lecture on Women in Leadership delivered by Ruby McGregor-Smith, CEO of Mitie.
Richard Greenhalgh Chairman, NCUB
David Docherty Chief Executive, NCUB
A Year in Review 14/15 | OPENING WORDS
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IN THE NEWS
While NCUB research provides the evidence base for successful collaboration between industry and Higher Education, the communication of the research helps us tell the story of successful university-business collaboration, to share its purpose and potential with company leaders, academics, Government, policy makers, and the general public. We do that in various ways including through the media.
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It’s a huge part of our economy, and doesn’t get the recognition it deserves in government.”
JUSTIN KING - Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme about the food industry, and NCUB’s Leading Food 4.0 report
Media coverage highlights include Justin King, Chair of NCUB’s Food Economy Task Force being interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on our Leading Food 4.0 report. The report also featured in The Grocer – the piece included a call on Government to produce a UK-wide plan for the education, skills and innovation needs of the food economy. We had a letter on the vital importance of international students to prosperity in the UK, from our Leadership Council, published in the Financial Times and followed up in the Telegraph. Signatories included Sir Martin Sorrell (CEO, WPP), Antonio Simoes (CEO, HSBC), Rob Woodward (CEO, STV) and John Fallon (CEO, Pearson). The Times Higher Education featured an article stating the ‘girlification’ of engineering has failed. Quoting NCUB research it looked at the challenges faced in marketing
engineering as an appealing subject for women to study. Our flagship report State of Relationship was covered in the Huffington Post, and the Times Higher Education. CEO, David Docherty had a think piece on graduate job agility published on the Guardian’s Higher Education network. NCUB’s Student Employability Index Survey was covered in The Guardian, The Big Choice, and Recruiter Online; and HR Magazine ran a piece - How HR can use CSR to connect with young people - based around our skills demand research. We continued to engage our audiences with our research, and stories of successful university business collaboration through our digital platforms, including across Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. The NCUB website received 231,705 page views over the year.
A Year in Review 14/15 | IN THE NEWS
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2014
Launch of State of Relationship at One Great George Street
OUR EVENTS
Women in Leadership Breakfast chaired and hosted by Rona Fairhead
Innovation Roundtables
From roundtables to breakfasts to launches to lectures, NCUB held over 20 events across the year - including the launch of our flagship report – State of the Relationship – two Women in Leadership breakfasts, The Fuse Manifesto, three innovation roundtables, the launch event of the industry-defining Leading Food 4.0 report, and NCUB’s Annual Lecture in November. State of the Relationship Many of our Leadership Council members, and over a hundred invited guests joined us for the Westminster launch of State of the Relationship. The report demonstrated the strength and current nature of collaboration between universities and business in the UK, including expert views from both sectors about challenges going forward. We provided detailed analysis
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2015
NCUB’s Fifth Annual Lecture at The Royal Institution of Great Britain
Leading Food 4.0 launch event
of existing evidence and showcased nearly forty casestudies of successful collaborations. NCUB Annual Lecture Ruby McGregor-Smith, CEO of Mitie delivered a compelling speech on breaking down the barriers for women to enter leadership at NCUB’s Annual Lecture. More than 180 guests gathered at The Royal Institution of Great Britain, and an additional 300 people watched online.
The Fuse Manifesto
UK Fuse: Accelerating and Superfusing Creative and Digital In order to ensure that we embed learning from the Fuse into a programme of work that can be taken up across the UK we held a one day conference in Birmingham to coincide with the BBC’s Digital Cities week in March. The FUSE: UK Steering Group has senior representatives from the AHRC, Digital Catapult, Creative England, and NESTA.
Food Economy Report We launched Leading Food 4.0 to a full house of business leaders and opinion formers joined by six food sector apprentices. Lord de Mauley, Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, gave the keynote address alongside the co-chairs of NCUB’s Food Economy Taskforce, Professor Quintin McKellar, Vice Chancellor, University of Hertfordshire and Justin King CBE, former Chief Executive, Sainsbury’s.
A Year in Review 14/15 | OUR EVENTS
The fundamental driver of innovation in Food 4.0 is the need to increase production whilst minimising negative environmental impacts. Among students who are in work six months after graduation, one in five had worked for their employer before.
Smaller universities with a broad portfolio of knowledge exchange services are just as likely to grow business investment as the larger universities.
Employers offered 206,000 work experience opportunities to university students last year.
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RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
State of the Relationship 2014 Our flagship report which aims to provide an authoritative source on the spread and quality of collaboration activity taking place in the sector Skills Demand Career Portfolios and the Labour Market for Graduates and Postgraduates Growing Experience Review of Undergraduate Placements in Computer Science Knowledge Exchange Diversification
NCUB research publications work to build the evidence base for university-business collaboration.
Strategies for Sustaining Growth Easy Access IP A Preliminary Assessment of the Initiative
Our research aims to offer a balanced view, celebrating successful university-business partnerships, identifying the actions needed to increase quality of collaboration, and busting the myths and assumptions about partnerships between industry and higher education.
Food Economy Research Report Attitudes and Perceptions of Careers in the Agriculture and Food Sector Food Economy Research Report
Led by NCUB Director of Research, Rosa Fernandez – the research team has generated a number of research reports covering all aspects of knowledge exchange activities.
Science and Translation for Innovation in the Food Economy Food Economy Research Report Landscape Collaboration for Sustainable Land Use
A Year in Review 14/15 | RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
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I support the National Centre for Universities and Business target of doubling the number of female engineering graduates by 2030.” PRIME MINISTER DAVID CAMERON at Prime Minister’s Questions
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DEVELOPING TALENT
Student Employability Index
NCUB is committed to the identification and development of the next generation of talent. Universities working in partnerships with business can help to inspire the talent that the UK needs from higher education to the workplace, and into leadership roles.
Women in Leadership
To this end we have been delivering a targeted programme of work to address talent development.
A network of graduates nominated by their business or university as possible future leaders.
A comprehensive survey of 4000 students on university choice, employability and career support. Talent 2030 An ambitious campaign to encourage talented young females to pursue careers in manufacturing and engineering.
Launched with Rona Fairhead, a network of senior business leaders to develop practical actions to increase the number of women in leadership positions in both business and academia, using the strength of universitybusiness collaboration. 50 Under 30
A Year in Review 14/15 | DEVELOPING TALENT
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…in this context, the idea of a dedicated UK food economy minister – as recently floated by the National Centre for Universities and Business – deserves serious consideration.” THE GROCER
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DRIVING INNOVATION NCUB is passionate about translating inventiveness into innovation, harnessing this expertise to help businesses transform and grow. Our Innovation Projects work to make the wealth of expertise, ideas and research contained in the UK’s universities accessible to business. Leading Food 4.0 Extensive research and engagement throughout the year to deliver the latest sector specific Task Force on the Food Economy. The Task Force made a number of key recommendations to the sector which we will work on in the next year.
London Fusion Completed a programme of interactive, tailored support designed to help London’s creative and digital small and medium-sized businesses collaborate, innovate and grow. It successfully concluded in December having supported close to 500 businesses and created over 100 new jobs. Fuse Manifesto Developed at the UK Fuse event in March to ensure learning from the Fuse projects in Brighton and London is embedded into a programme of work that can be taken up across the UK. Growing Value Scotland Bringing together leading experts and leaders from across industry and academia to identify and prioritise action specific to Scotland that will enhance the value of publiclyfunded research and business-university collaboration. Smart Specialisation In collaboration with Innovate UK and HEFCE, we have been scoping out at the request of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) the establishment of a Smart Specialisation Advisory Hub.
A Year in Review 14/15 | DRIVING INNOVATION
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BUILDING DIGITAL NCUB
Innovation Brokerage Significant scoping and user engagement was carried out through 2014 to enable agreement and funding to be secured through HEFCE, Innovate UK and the Research Councils to develop an online intelligent brokerage tool. Work Experience Brokerage NCUB is committed to working with universities and business networks to open up digital opportunities for students to access meaningful and relevant work experience. Engineering Portal
Building on the success of the current NCUB website we are scoping and beginning to build a number of digital resources to provide highquality information and advice to targeted audiences. The advent of digital solutions could be transformational in enabling the interaction between universities and businesses.
In follow-up to the Perkins Review we have been working with the Royal Academy of Engineering to scope out and deliver an Engineering Portal. Food Industry Student Portal One of the central recommendations in the Food Economy Task Force was to work with the Agri-Tech Leadership Council to deliver a sector-wide food industry student portal.
A Year in Review 14/15 | BUILDING DIGITAL NCUB
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A Year in Review 14/15 | OUR MEMBERS
National Centre for Universities and Business
Studio 11, Tiger House, Burton Street, London, WC1H 9BY info@ncub.co.uk
+44 (0)207 383 7667
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www.ncub.co.uk