Partnerships in focus

Driving sustainable leadership with Capgemini Invent

To ensure a sustainable future, future leaders must be equipped with the skills and knowledge to drive meaningful change. This is why the University of Exeter joined forces with Capgemini Invent UK to deliver the Sustainability Solutions Leadership Development Programme (SSLDP) to 550 consultants across the UK and Northern Europe. Over five weeks, each SSLDP cohort immerses themselves in face-to-face masterclasses led by expert academics, engages with online content, and undergoes assessments to cultivate the knowledge and skills necessary for fostering sustainable practices. Expanding our collaboration, we now offer executive education opportunities to global leaders alongside educational initiatives such as student placements and field trips. 

Pioneering sustainable lithium development: A decade of collaboration between Cornish Lithium and the University of Exeter

Cornish Lithium is a pioneering mineral exploration and development company. They are spearheading the development of an environmentally responsible lithium extraction industry in Cornwall and the wider UK. Over the last eleven years, the University of Exeter has forged a successful partnership with Cornish Lithium. Together, we have collaborated on multiple groundbreaking projects. These initiatives span a range of domains, from employing cutting-edge satellite techniques to contributing to the Deep Digital Cornwall initiative and advancing geocommunication e-training. 

Empowering community wellbeing with CoLab

The University of Exeter has been working with CoLab since its inception in 2016. This multi-agency wellbeing hub is home to various groups and organisations working together to support people with complex lives. Our partnership with CoLab has evolved over the years and has included student interns, MBA students and research collaborations, which have responded to some of CoLab’s most pressing priorities, such as mental health, community connectedness and homelessness. The University is currently a partner in the CoLab-led Urban Learning Academy  -  an alliance of organisations taking a values-led, aspirational approach to enabling community-based adult learners to connect and engage with learning. 

Empowering healthcare excellence: The University of Exeter and RDUH

The partnership between the University of Exeter and the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (RDUH) fosters excellence in clinical research, healthcare education, and innovation. 

The Joint Research Office (JRO) between the University and Trust fosters collaboration with life sciences partners, translating life-changing innovations into real-world benefits for patients in the region, nationally, and worldwide. 

Working together, we successfully delivered the NIHR sponsored Exeter Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), the first of its kind in the South West Peninsula. It aims to translate scientific discoveries into tangible patient benefits, run clinical trials, and advance approaches using cutting-edge technologies for improved healthcare. 

Alongside the commitment to furthering innovation and research, the University contributes to building regional clinical research capacity and elevating the workforce's skills through continued professional development (CPD). This commitment aligns with the government's NHS Plan and the General Medical Council's 'Tomorrow's Doctors' guidance, ensuring modernization and excellence in medical education. 

Creating environmental solutions with the Met Office

The University of Exeter has worked with the Met Office to develop weather and climate prediction models for many years.  

The University is part of the Met Office’s Academic Partnership (MOAP), which draws together world-class expertise around a focused programme of joint research to tackle key challenges in weather and climate science and prediction. 

In 2020, the University of Exeter and the Met Office announced an ambitious plan to create a Joint Centre for Excellence in Environmental Intelligence (JCEEI), bringing together world-leading researchers to utilise data science and artificial intelligence to transform our understanding of the natural environment and develop solutions to real-world challenges. Areas of research span climate change, clean air, health, and extreme weather events.   

We facilitate knowledge exchange through various collaborative initiatives, including joint staff appointments, secondments, co-supervision of PhDs, training and career development for young researchers, summer placements, internships, and collaboration on cutting-edge research projects.  

Promoting heritage and creativity with the RAMM 

The University of Exeter and the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM) celebrate years of successful collaboration. There are over 100 projects and engagements between the two organisations, involving over 50 academics at the University of Exeter. These include exhibitions and events, collaborative research, impact generation, curriculum development, student project engagement and graduate placements, PhD studentships, and collaboration around Wellbeing.

The University of Exeter and RAMM have a Memorandum of Understanding and the University supports RAMM’s programme through being a member of their Oversight Panel which monitors the organisation’s programme and operations.

Fostering health and environmental innovation with AstraZeneca

The University of Exeter has forged a robust partnership with AstraZeneca over the last 25 years, showcasing a commitment to pioneering environmental and human health research.

This collaboration comprises several impactful research programmes that each play to the collaborative strengths of industry and academic expertise and knowhow.

One initiative aims to use new approaches, including transgenic fish models, to better understand and evaluate the potential risk of pharmaceuticals in the environment. Another programme established safe limits for antimicrobials to prevent evolution of antimicrobial resistance in wastewater and wastewater-receiving aquatic environments, which is vital for safeguarding public health.

Beyond these environmental studies, gene editing tools are being developed and applied in zebrafish to study genes that are critical for human health and important for AstraZeneca’s drug discovery programme. Another approach uses zebrafish to detect potential side effects during early drug development/selection, thus supporting the development of medicines.

By sharing knowledge and technologies, we're shaping a healthier future together.

Managing biodiversity and landscape change with the National Trust

The University of Exeter and the National Trust launched their five-year strategic partnership in May 2021, focusing on protecting landscapes so people and nature can thrive. In the context of rapid environmental change, declining biodiversity, and widespread political and economic uncertainty, the partnership focuses on problems that cannot be solved with expertise from practitioners or academics alone. By driving collaboration between the two organisations, our partnership aims to help transform the ways that landscapes are managed, boost biodiversity, and encourage people to play an active role in looking after the natural world.