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The Office for Students and Research England launched the £10m Student Engagement in Knowledge Exchange programme in 2020 to develop the evidence base on the nature of, and benefits from, student engagement in knowledge exchange activities.  Knowledge exchange is the wide range of activities undertaken by higher education providers with external partners such as businesses, the public sector, and community groups, to benefit the economy and society.

The programme is supporting 20 projects led by higher education providers across England to develop and share understanding of effective practice, and to inform on-going policy and investment.

SQW has been appointed to conduct an evaluation of the programme.  The evaluation includes the delivery of a series of formative reports to provide evidence on the progress made by the projects and the nature and scale of activities delivered, and highlight any emerging learning and key insights from the projects’ experiences.

Summaries of the first two formative reports – covering delivery to March 2021, and November 2021 respectively – have now been published here by the Office for Students. 

The formative reports demonstrate that progress overall has been strong, which is particularly encouraging given the significant challenges associated with supporting student engagement in knowledge exchange during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the disruption this has caused for individuals and institutions. The programme is also generating considerable learning on how to engage and work with students, partners and academics in the delivery of knowledge exchange activities.

For more information about the evaluation or SQW’s wider work in knowledge exchange, please contact Joe Duggett.