Work with us and leverage our networks, students and funding opportunities

With over 70 years’ experience in working alongside businesses to develop collaborative projects and partnerships, we can maximise the value of your research through accessing public and private funding sources.

If you are looking for research funding to support new developments, whether you are a large or small enterprise, we can work with you to apply for part-funded or fully-funded grants.

The type of funding you can access will depend on the type of collaborative partnership you choose to undertake with us. Whether this is as part of a large multi-partner research project, a straightforward sponsorship of a PhD student or a project covering an aspect of organisational change, we have the expertise and knowledge to advise and help secure public funding to support your own input.

Key facts

  • We receive the highest proportion of research funding from industry sources (non-Government) of any major university in the UK (HES).
  • Industry funding for research is £15-20 million per year and we conduct between 400 and 500 research projects per year.
  • Over 90% of our research projects involve external collaboration with end users of the research from industry, public sector and non-governmental organisations.
  • £36.4 million to our University income in the academic year 2014-2015.
  • We have strategic partnering agreements with 14 multinational companies.

Funding success

We have a proven track record in securing funding for collaborative research from:

  • Innovate UK,
  • BIS Regional Growth Opportunity Fund,
  • European Commission,
  • Research UK.

There are also a number of part-funding schemes which provide funding for high-quality graduates working within companies on projects central to their needs:

Contact our team to find out what is the best potential funding source for your business needs.