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Solent Unviersity Southampton logo

Welcome

Welcome to your one-stop-shop for enabling business growth and development. Home to world-class facilities, creative communities and a future-ready business school, working with business has long been in our DNA here at Solent.

From providing learning and training solutions that enable employee development to co-creating new business solutions that help the business achieve its strategic aims, our team of business advisors are here to work with you in finding the right solution for you and your business.

We offer a range of free and costed solutions and will always be upfront if there's a cost associated with the work. For our solutions that are free of charge financially, time and resource will still be required from your business to develop a successful solution. Our costed solutions are those that require significant time or resource from the University and in some cases, we can work with you in accessing external funding to cover the costs.  

You can take a look at some of the ways we can work together on this page or alternatively be inspired by how we’ve partnered with other businesses of different sizes and across different sectors through the featured case studies.

If you’re unsure where to start, why not tell us a bit about your business and the challenge you are looking to address. One of our business advisers will then get in touch to discuss how we can work together.

Help me solve my business problems

Three people working on a project togetherLive briefs

Ideal for businesses looking for a new perspective on a project or challenge that currently has limited internal resource. Often a starting point for many businesses, live briefs are free for the business financially and provide an opportunity for you to work directly with our creative student community.

£ No cost

Find out more

Groups of Solent Creatives students working on projectsFreelance work

Got an ad-hoc project that requires extra resource? Maybe you’re after a professional photographer or have a graphic design project that needs some creative expertise? Our in-house student creative agency promotes paid freelance work from employers that can be undertaken by students outside of their studies - providing the perfect creative solution for businesses of any size by delivering high quality work, while helping students gain real-world experience.

£ Costed per hour

Solent Creatives

A group of professionals having a meetingKnowledge Transfer Partnerships

KTPs bring new skills into your business, access to the latest academic thinking, and deliver a strategic, innovative project through a knowledge-based partnership. Ideal for medium- to long-term projects, we can work with you to develop a proposal that accesses government funding to enable delivery. The amount you will need to contribute depends on the scale and length of the project, with SMEs required to contribute a third, and large businesses half of the costs.

£ Costed with external sources of funding available

Find out more

Aid me in upskilling my employees

Students studying in a classroomUnderstanding life-long education

If you're looking to get your head around the different levels of education and fully-funded training schemes available to your business, our handy sector guides, developed in partnership with Eastleigh College and Business South, will help.

Find out more

Two people working on a projectApprenticeships

Apprenticeships are a great way to develop new and existing talent within your business. Covering a range of areas, including digital marketing and leadership, we will work with you, regardless of size, to maximise use of your apprenticeship levy or, for non-levy-payers, claiming 95% of the cost from the government.

£ Costed with existing funding available to cover costs

Higher and degree apprenticeships

Provide me with access to skilled resource

a group of students with a tutor looking at workRecruiting graduates and students

From part-time seasonal work to graduate roles, you can promote your employment opportunities for free on our online jobs board. Simply register an account, upload your details and promote your opportunities to our alumni and student communities.

£ No cost

Advertise a job

A careers adviser talking to a group of studentsPlacements

Varying in duration to meet the needs of your business, student placements provide you with the chance to benefit from fresh insight while providing our students with an opportunity to apply their academic learning. Placements can provide a great short-term resource for your business while providing an opportunity to develop pipelines of future talent.

£ No cost

Find out more

Discover how businesses have worked with us

Businesses of all sizes and sectors choose to work with Solent University. Be inspired by how these businesses have benefited from working with us.

Working with our partner businesses, B&Q and Enterprise Rent-A-Car, our students work on live briefs and can benefit from work placements.

Read the case studies

I'd like to make use of your specialist facilities

Specialist facilities

Ideal for businesses who don't want the overheads of expensive equipment, our campus is home to industry-standard facilities which can be hired by businesses. From film studios to 3D printing facilities, take a look at our range on campus.

£ Costed

Browse our facilities

A shoot involving a car in Studio B

 

Grow your business

Our Small Business Chartered Solent Business School is home to a rich community of academic expertise and knowledge with experience in supporting small business growth and development.

Find out more

 

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