The KEF looks at the wide range of activities that higher education institutions undertake with external partners for the benefit of society and the economy.
These activities include partnering with industry, businesses and the public and third sectors, as well as commercialising research through spinout businesses, licensing intellectual property and nurturing student entrepreneurship.
This year, UCL scored in the highest band in the areas of Intellectual Property (IP) and commercialisation, research partnerships, working with business and working with the public and third sector.
Professor Geraint Rees, UCL Vice-Provost (Research, Innovation & Global Engagement) said: “UCL has consistently performed well in KEF and I’m delighted to see us retain our leading position this year. Our breadth and depth as one of the leading universities in the country allows us to deliver knowledge exchange at scale. From providing policy makers with unbiased expert advice to developing highly effective new treatments for cancer patients, UCL creates innovations and ideas that impact and boost our society and economy.
“Many congratulations to our staff, our students and graduates, and to the businesses, governments and other partner organisations and investors that we collaborate with.”
Research Partnerships
A new music album based on the tremors of people with Parkinson’s disease has been launched by a team of UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology researchers to help provide relief for people with the condition. The Tremors vs Tremors project, in collaboration with creative agency Innocean Berlin and audio production company DaHouse, has created a series of bespoke songs based on the personal narratives, favourite genres and tremor recordings of five people with Parkinson’s.
More than 10 million people worldwide currently live with Parkinson’s, and this number is expected to double over the next 20 years.
The aim of Tremors vs Tremors is to continue to raise awareness of the variability in Parkinson’s, while also highlighting the importance of a holistic approach to managing symptoms.
“It really is an honour for the Tremors vs tremors project to be highlighted in this way, and is testament to both the broad collaborative team and the generosity of our volunteers that made this project a success” Dr Christian Lambert, Principal Research Fellow, Imaging Neuroscience, UCL Queen Square Institiute of Neurology
"Tremors Vs. Tremors was a special project to be involved in! It taught me the power of collaborative work and using creative methods to engage a broad audience. We can't thank those who volunteered enough." Charlotte Dore, Research Assistant, Imaging Neuroscience, UCL Queen Square Institiute of Neurology
IP and commercialisation
Over the last five years, 51 spinouts were started at UCL through UCL Business (UCLB), the university’s commercialisation company. Collectively they have raised over £2.9 billion in investment and currently employ over 2,200 people, making UCL third in the UK for attracting external investment.
In addition to creating spinouts, UCL supports academics to license ground-breaking technologies for commercial development and manufacture. A revolutionary gene therapy treatment for people with haemophilia A, developed at UCL and licensed to BioMarin Pharmaceuticals Inc., is offering adults with the disease a one-off, life-changing treatment instead of regular injections previously required to manage the disorder.
The treatment, Roctavian, is the first ever gene therapy for adults with severe haemophilia A to be approved by the United States’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA), following a similar approval in 2022 by the European Commission.
Entrepreneurial community
UCL’s thriving entrepreneurial community produces startups that attract millions of pounds of investment, creating jobs and spearheading innovation that boosts the UK economy. Over the last five years more than 335 new student startups were created at UCL. Collectively they have raised over £327 million in external investment and currently employ over 2,000 people.
For example, UCL startup BoxxDocks, co-founded by alumnus James Della Valle (BSc Architecture 2020 and MSc Architecture, 2023) and Alessandro Attanzio, was supported by UCL Innovation & Enterprise, through the Hatchery incubator programme at BaseKX, UCL’s dedicated entrepreneurship hub in Kings Cross.
BoxxDocks integrates advanced tracking technology into reusable packaging to help businesses boost their efficiency while lowering costs and environmental impact. The startup recently partnered with leading pharmaceutical distributor Sigma Pharmaceuticals to further develop its offer and expand into multiple sectors.
Working with business
UCL partnered with Amazon Web Services in April 2022 to launch the UCL Centre for Digital Innovation (CDI) to speed up innovations in healthcare and education.
The UCL CDI is Amazon Web Services’ first cloud innovation centre in the UK, supporting academics and entrepreneurs to create solutions which address pressing global challenges. They do this through a 12-week impact accelerator programme, doctoral scholarships and a meet-up space for like-minded applications. Supported projects range from new algorithms to diagnose diseases more effectively, to cloud-based platforms that rapidly collect data to fast-track educational studies.
In its first two years, the centre has supported 19 new businesses, helped 24 PhD researchers with scholarships and supported over £1.5 million of research grant applications.
UCL President & Provost, Professor Michael Spence, said: “Our success in the fourth KEF reflects the quality of our partnerships across business, government, local communities and the NHS. These partnerships are essential in translating life-changing knowledge and research into tangible change, tackling global issues and changing the world.
“UCL will continue to put knowledge exchange at the heart of what we do, and I’d like to invite existing and new partners to join us in bringing that research to communities around the world.”