Practice-led? It's all about impact

At Solent University, we talk about practice-led education. It's self-explanatory; we aim to give our students learning experiences rooted in practical opportunities, knowing this is the best and most effective way to learn. It might be fair to say that universities are not generally associated with this kind of learning, but it works, and the evidence - I'm talking graduate outcomes and the project I specifically worked on this year - is there to back me up. It's an approach to learning and teaching that goes hand in hand with industry partnerships, and its impact isn't one-sided.

Solent's new collaboration with the British Army Women's Football Team is just the latest example of how our approach makes a tangible difference beyond the university setting. In the Army FA Soldiers' latest annual report, Solent University's contribution during the Inter Services Competition, which sees the army play football fixtures against the Navy and the RAF, has been shown to have played a key role in the team's tournament successes.

So, what did this collaboration actually involve? Students and staff from Solent's School of Health and Sport spent time with the British Army Women's Football Team to deliver psycho-education workshops, run sport science testing, provide sports therapy support and share insights via performance analysis with the ultimate goal of enhancing their performance during this year's games. And it worked; the team have directly attributed its collaboration with Solent as one of the core contributors to achieving their best result in six years.

The experience was a unique opportunity for the 12 students involved, providing a range of benefits including real-world experience that enables undergraduates to observe what they learn in lectures being applied in industry environments; and essential material for dissertation research.

Perhaps most importantly, this kind of collaboration is one that can be adopted elsewhere, and not just in the specific environment of sport. Universities must work with a variety of sectors - and in a diversity of settings - to make the significant impact they are capable of. The way we have utilised the expertise of our academic team alongside the growing skills of our students showcases the way practice-led learning is an effective method of delivering value and mutual benefit beyond the confines of a campus.

We look forward to expanding Solent's provision alongside the British Army FA in the future to increase student opportunities and industry-based experience over the 2025/26 football season.

Want to hear more about this collaboration? Listen to the Wellbeing in Sport Podcast here.