Knowledge Exchange (KE)

Knowledge Exchange (KE) at the University of Strathclyde

The University of Strathclyde is a leading international technological university, helping businesses and organisations to innovate and develop. With an excellent track record of working with a range of partners locally, nationally and globally in the private, public and voluntary sectors, the University works in partnership so that our research and technologies have maximum impact.

 Knowledge Exchange (KE) involves university staff interacting with a range of non-academic audiences to either co-produce information or exchange knowledge between them.  This often takes the form of consultancy, research, CPD and training with businesses and organisations, but also includes licensing, company creation and enterprise as well as informing policy and practice, and public engagement.

The KE Concordat

In 2021, the University of Strathclyde signed up to the KE Concordat, which aims to give universities and their staff and students clarity of mission to support their development, and give partners an accurate representation of the approach that individual universities are taking to knowledge exchange.  This is presented by clear indicators of the approach taken to performance improvement, and give our governing bodies and government broad confidence in the activity that is taking place in universities, as well as demonstrating how collaboration between universities and partners is beneficial to all participants.  A series of high-level principles are proposed to cover a range of underpinning activities for effective knowledge exchange, and within each there is a set of enablers and action plans.  A key strength of the KE Concordat is that it allows universities to express and state their own enablers and action plans and is not prescriptive.