Institutional Context
Summary
Founded in 1823 to provide educational opportunities to working Londoners, Birkbeck, University of London has a long and proud tradition of opening up knowledge for the benefit of society.
As the only specialist provider of genuinely flexible evening higher education in the UK, we are singularly well placed to translate knowledge into the wider economy both through our research and through the state of the art education we offer to a truly unique student body. Our students are highly diverse, non-traditional, often employer-supported and always exceptional.
Our academics focus on their research and on supporting our diverse student body, maintaining our position as a world leading research institution with a commitment to open, accessible, critical, reproducible and usable research.
Figure Institutional Context Infographic
Institutional context
For 200 years, Birkbeck’s mission has been to make knowledge more open and accessible for anyone who can benefit from this knowledge.
Our strategy is to target people traditionally marginalized from higher education, and rests on a foundation of expanding education and professional/knowledge-based development opportunities. There is no “one size fits all”, we tailor our approach to the specific needs of our audience, routinely working with employers, local councils, NGOs etc. to deliver our mission.
The College covers the spectrum of arts, humanities and social sciences, but does not have medicine or engineering (although we do have a strong reputation in some health-related areas, for example the Medical Humanities, Psychosocial Studies etc.).
Implicit in our mission is the recognition that we have a duty to our students to provide a research-led educational offer which is recognised to be of the highest standards globally (Birkbeck places in top 35% of institutions ranked by QS World University Rankings — Birkbeck, University of London (bbk.ac.uk)), with research-led teaching and skills employers value front and centre. 50% of Birkbeck graduates earn over £30,000pa six months after graduating.
The results of both REF2014 and more recently REF2021confirm that our research is genuinely world leading. Given our strong societal mission it is unsurprising that the focus for research-based knowledge exchange is often more commonly associated with cultural, societal and policy interventions than with commercial exploitation. The College is heavily inclined towards making the findings of its research openly available under terms which allow re-use, e.g.
The Janeway software to support academic publishing (https://janeway.systems/).
The dichroweb service (http://dichroweb.cryst.bbk.ac.uk/html/home.shtml, the world’s leading resource for analysis for protein Circular Dichroism spectra).
The 3rd edition of “A human rights approach to prison management handbook for prison staff”, produced in partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross https://www.unodc.org/e4j/data/_university_uni_/a_human_rights_approach_to_prison_management.html?lng=en.
Our flagship employer-led student knowledge exchange programmes include
400 mentors from our alumni and business help support students navigate their careers.
We work with employers to offer student placements and a targeted programme to support students with disabilities in paid work placements.
Our Pioneer progamme works with aspiring student entrepreneurs and gives them the opportunity to learn from and network with our business founders, those in start ups and SMEs.
The Student Success Programme, supported by JP Morgan, uses data to effectively identify students who are at greatest risk of poor performance or dropping out, and will benefit from bespoke interventions to increase motivation and improve skills.
The Access Group partner with Birkbeck on The Access to Digital Skills Programme to build pathways to careers in tech for students from underrepresented backgrounds. The programme comprises of; a career bootcamp of industry-led skills workshops; an online skills training programme in partnership with Microsoft; and internships with tech companies. The Group have funded a position to deliver this programme, with 150 students set to take part each year.
For further information, please send queries to KEF@bbk.ac.uk
Local Growth and Regeneration
Summary of approach
Geographically, Birkbeck prioritises local growth and regeneration activities in London, especially Camden - the home of our campus, and Newham. With support from academic and professional services colleagues, we encourage individuals who are traditionally marginalised from education to take advantage of professional development courses and (higher) education provision. Working with local authorities, we help Londoners from deprived areas get better and secure jobs and opportunities to improve their quality of life, supporting London to achieve a brighter and more sustainable future. Our approaches are bespoke to the requirements of these respective communities.
Outside these boroughs, this mission extends to other hard-to-reach communities who are not defined by geography, such as asylum seekers, people from low income households and so on.
Aspect 1: Strategy
Birkbeck embodies the civic role of universities and has had board-level representation on the Civic Universities Commission, the Centenary Commission on Adult Education, the Labour Party’s Lifelong Learning Commission and other similar bodies.
We offer all Londoners a foundation to expand their education and professional development, directly through skills and indirectly through impacts from our research. We deliberately target people who are marginalized from (higher) education and support them to gain skills and improve their prospects.
This is a 21st century fulfilment of our 19th Century mission to bring knowledge and education to working Londoners.
Working with London Boroughs
Birkbeck works across London but has a key focus on the boroughs of Newham and Camden (combined population of approximately 620,000, larger than Bristol or Liverpool). According to government data, 49% of children in Newham and 36% of all residents live in poverty, much higher than the London average, and nearly a quarter of residents earn less than the London Living Wage. Camden is London in microcosm, with some of the UKs most wealthy streets sitting a stones-throw away from areas that are amongst the 10% most deprived in England, where over a third of children live in low income households and there is one of the highest levels of rough sleeping it the country.
The Compass Project
Communities who are marginalized from HE are not exclusively geographic, so we also proactively engage with other educationally hard-to-reach sectors of society, for example through our prize winning* Compass Project which reaches out to help refugees and asylum-seeking communities access education. Birkbeck has worked with sanctuary seekers since 2016 when it launched the Compass Project, a programme designed for and targeted towards people from forced migrant backgrounds who would like to continue their education at university.
At the heart of this provision is a commitment to ensuring that the university is welcoming, supportive and accessible to students who face many barriers to access and inclusion in the higher education context. The Compass Project offers several pathways into university education for people seeking asylum in the UK. For example, we run a series of workshops and events designed to provide people from forced migrant backgrounds with the knowledge and skills to start their academic journey. We advise on the level of skill and preparation needed to apply and study at university, giving clear guidance on the best study options. We work closely with colleagues outside of Birkbeck who support and help individuals access educational opportunities, to ensure university is accessible for all who seek to learn.
Through the Compass programme we strive to be a strong voice and critical friend to the wider education sector in promoting and supporting routes into learning for forced migrant communities and sharing the benefits this brings to all.
In 2020, we were awarded University of Sanctuary status - the first University in London to be given this recognition. https://universities.cityofsanctuary.org/
*2018 Guardian University Award, Widening Access Category
Working with Employers
Many London employers recognise and value the transformative effect a Birkbeck education can have on their business. Every year in the region of 500-550 students are sponsored by their employer to study with us (typically ca. 10% certificates/foundation, 15% undergraduate, 55% Masters, 10% PhD, 10% other courses).
Across all our cohorts, in the region of 40% of students work full-time while studying and a further 25% work part-time. Most receive support from their employer, ranging from (full/partial) fees to study leave and other in-kind support. 98% of all Birkbeck students are in work or further study after graduation.
Employer-Led Knowledge Exchange Programmes
Our employer-led student knowledge exchange programmes routinely draw upon in the region of 3500-4000 hours of expertise from our alumni and corporate partners per annum. We work with employers to ensure our students have skills employers value.
These programmes include:
The Santander-backed Pioneer programme.
The UpSkill Tech programme, funded by The J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation, which develops students skills in technology and also gives (particularly female and BAME) students access to opportunities in the tech sector.
Bootcamps, in partnership with the Association for Independent Professionals and the Self Employed.
Birkbeck Talent, our professional recruitment service.
Mentors and careers clinics from our Alumni and London businesses.
The Ability programme, which places students with disabilities and neurodiverse conditions.
Change through Research
We are proactive in translating the results of our research into real life improvements for working Londoners through active engagement with stakeholders, through contract research and consultancy, and through our world-leading, research-led teaching.
Aspect 2: Activity
Working with our Local Boroughs
Newham’s motto is "Progress with the People", a sentiment which underpins our approach. Our activities have strong community involvement, are highly responsive to community needs, and are supported by both the local authority and the London Legacy Development Corporation.
We provide small-group skills workshops on CV-writing, writing applications, running community surveys etc.
Camden is the home of our primary campus so here we also work with the local council to tie campus improvements to better opportunities for residents; for example, recent planning permissions have included scholarships and employing construction industry apprentices from Camden on the project.
During COVID our work with Camden and Newham changed significantly. Our work was maintained but via online activities and collaborations supporting health, wellbeing and post-pandemic planning. This transformed our longer-term practices and responses to working with the boroughs and has now underpinned our future priorities with them and how we engage with communities and policy development in these areas.
In 19/20 the College began some work to support policy makers in 12 key local authorities in London to develop adult education provision to support the Covid recovery, drawing directly on our expertise as London’s only specialist provider of flexible higher education provision and our research in cognate areas as part of the Lifelong Learning London Central Consortium. The Consortium is a group of Heads of adult learning services from 12 local authorities who look strategically at the role adult education provision will play to address the needs of Central London post Covid 19 lockdown. The central London local authority adult and community education services are strategically vital to London, sub-regional and borough recovery programmes. In 19/20 The GLA became the devolved budget holder of the entire adult learning budget for the city - steering priorities and distribution of funds to increase and improve adult skills. This consortium works as a collective to collaborate and join up best practice in London.
This scoping work ensured that the commission had full and ready access to evidence about the role universities and university provision could play in delivering the skills that will be needed for the recovery. We facilitated links between the Consortium and the policy team at the Office for Students, supporting work between the two to explore the opportunities created through work between the adult education community and pathways to HE.
The Compass Project
The Compass Project supports refugee and asylum seekers to access HE and was developed in partnership Article 26 (part of the Helena Kennedy Foundation), Student Action for Refugees (STAR) and Haringey Council, building on a partnership which had significantly increased the number of people from Tottenham studying certificate-level qualifications at Birkbeck.
Alix Partners (Z Foundation), Allen & Overy, Santander, Texel, Travers Smith and private philanthropists have kindly support this outreach programme, helping to ensure that this continues as a sustainable part of Birkbeck’s mission.
Between 2019 and 2021, a filmmaker and artist collaborated with seven current and former Compass students to make two films about their experiences.
A Road to Travel (13 minutes) focuses on the students' university experience and the difference Compass has made to their lives.
Silence Heard Loud (72 minutes) combines beautiful imagery of the students moving around London with their stories, told in their own words.
Employer-Led Student Knowledge Exchange Programmes
Our employer-led, student programmes support the development of enterprise and entrepreneurialism and other transferable skills. By collaborating with employers to design these programmes, which include over 150 industry led/partners workshops per annum, we deliver skills employers want.
Change through Research
We have improved the lives of Londoners through direct work with policy makers and/or bodies who can influence policy at the local or national level and through the strategic development of opportunities to undertake research and/or provide expert advice which is of immediate and direct benefit to organisations which are based in London, be they local, national or global in scope. This is described more fully in our Public and Community Engagement template.
Aspect 3: Results
Working with London Boroughs
Over 19/20, 20/21 and 21/22 our work in Newham directly engaged ca 635 residents, and we recruited IRO 750 students from Newham.
Activities included:
Into University: how to support your child in their learning, how to continue learning as an adult.
Uprising’s Fastlaner’s, a careers programme for underemployed/unemployed 18-25 year olds
Create Jobs, workplace employability programmes
Guidance for Study (Get Started workshops, drop-in sessions & Information stands in the community, information and advice workshops
Careers Support
“Dip-In” Learning
The Compass Project
The Compass Project has been successfully supporting students from forced migrant backgrounds into higher education since 2016; This is what two Compass scholars have to say about the impact it has had on their lives.
Hana* joined Birkbeck in 2020 to start an LLB Law
degree:
“My passion for human rights and immigration law has grown
and I know I want to be a human rights lawyer in the future. For me, the
Compass Project hasn’t just been an opportunity to study, it’s been an
opportunity to change my life.
People coming from forced migrant backgrounds know what it means to have nothing and know how challenging life can get. Now we have the opportunity to work hard and achieve our potential. I don’t have all the words to say thank you. My advice for future Compass students is to make sure you are clear about your passions and what you want to achieve. Find the courage within yourself as you will only have regrets if you don’t. It doesn’t matter about where you come from, just about where you go. I am now at Birkbeck, studying a great course and meeting amazing people.”
Grace* joined Birkbeck in 2018 and recently completed a CertHE in Psychodynamic Counselling and Skills in a Psychosocial Framework:
“Psychodynamic Counselling was of particular interest to me because I have always wanted to help others and the theory and practical skills I gained in class also helped me with my own personal trauma. I am glad that I have now been able to turn the helping aspect of my personality into a qualification. Without the Compass Project, I would never have seen myself as a university student. Even with everything I have been through, one of the biggest barriers I faced prior to studying was my own self-doubt. However, the support I received from those on the Compass Project team and other Birkbeck staff took that self-doubt away.”
* Names have been changed
Working with Employers
41% of all Birkbeck undergraduate students work full-time while studying, a further 24% work part-time while studying. Our employer-led student knowledge exchange programmes are developed in partnership with employers and 98% of all Birkbeck students are in work or further study after graduation Analysis of data collected in 2019 by HESA shows that 50% of Birkbeck graduates earn over £30,000 pa six months after graduating.
Employer-Led Student Knowledge Exchange Programmes
Pioneer (supported by Santander) is an extra-curricular programme of workshops available to all students delivered by entrepreneurs and professionals. Students develop core skills including pitching, budgeting, networking, creating business plans etc. They have opportunities to create links with investors and pitch for funding/internships for their businesses.
Upskill: Tech (digital skills development funded by The J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation) In any one year approximately 1,500 students take part in training provided via online platforms to develop their digital skills. From these 1500 students in the region of 90 placements and 20 internships are typically taken up.
Birkbeck Talent, our professional recruitment service typically places over 300 students in a year.
Mentors and Careers Clinics match current Birkbeck students with alumni or corporate partners for one-to-one support. The Careers Clinic programme started in 2016 (37 alumni, IRO 225 students) and sits alongside our mentoring programme. Since 2012, >650 students have benefited from advice from established mentors, with corporate partnerships including PwC, Cancer Research UK, Fiserv, Ashurst and Arts Council England.
The Ability Programme (initially supported by £25,000 from The Ian Karten Charitable Trust but now supported by The Ian Karten Charitable Trust, Change 100, The Kaleidoscope Group and Clu) supports students and recent graduates with a disability/neurodiverse condition through skills development workshops, online resources and networking with employers. The Programme facilitates fully funded work placements, supporting employers to understand the ways in which they can attract and accommodate employees with disabilities or neurodiverse conditions and encourage an open dialogue about the individual needs of these employees.
Change through Research
Our research has directly impacted on the lives of Londoners through providing an evidence-base to underpin national policy on issues such as early years education (Early years’ experience and social mobility: Research evidence promoting policy changes ), part time HE study (The Lost Part Timers: influencing policies to stem the decline in part-time undergraduate HE in England), LGBTQ+ adoption (Informing practice and legal frameworks for adoption by LGBT parents), and patient choice in the NHS (Making the right decisions for patients: competition, choice and inequality in publicly-funded healthcare); through work with the London Ambulance Service to provide a bespoke solution to improve response times (Enhancing Vehicle Deployment Strategies at the London Ambulance Service); to improving governance for the non-profit sport sector (Reforming governance in the UK non-profit sport sector), to benefitting heritage and cultural organisations through effectively training theatre directors (Directing - a Handbook for Emerging Theatre Directors: : Rob Swain: Methuen Drama (bloomsbury.com)), supporting globally important museums, archives and heritage organisations based in London (e.g. Re-shaping Approaches to LGBT+ History in the Museums, Archives and Heritage Sectors, Blood and Money: Contested Cultural Histories), and providing re-interpretations of overlooked but globally important historical figures who were based in London (Robert Paul and the Origins of British Cinema).
Public & Community Engagement
Summary of approach
Birkbeck is a world leading research-intensive university.
Central to our mission is making the results of our research and expertise available through research-led teaching, public dissemination, partnerships with other organisations of all types, and the promotion of civic and public debate.
We have a long tradition of engaging with cultural, environmental, political, scientific, and social issues that demand fearless questioning and innovative approaches to be solved.
Our researchers believe in making knowledge openly available and accessible by promoting, contributing to and extending public discourses, and seeking out constructive partnerships to influence and inform groups such as
communities of practice (NGOs, social movements, public health etc.)
culture and society
industry
policy makers from private, public and third sector bodies
Aspect 1: Strategy
Public and Community engagement are at the heart of Birkbeck’s mission to increase access to knowledge and opportunity.
We make a difference to society through education (see local growth and regeneration template), public dissemination, and targeted knowledge exchange with specific communities including:
third, voluntary and civil sector organisations, public bodies, NGOs, campaign/pressure groups; cultural organisations, the cultural sector and creative economy
policy makers, advisory boards/panels and other decision-making bodies including parliamentarians and government departments
international agencies/(agencies for) developing countries
practitioners, professionals/professional bodies; employers/employer organisations; industry
individual stakeholders/direct beneficiaries
the general public and/or specific communities within the general public
The College Research Committee, chaired by our PVC (Research) oversees our research,
public engagement and knowledge exchange/impact strategies. At least one dedicated post per School monitors, promotes and actively supports engagement with stakeholders in our research. This local support is complemented and extended by several central teams (Research Office, Development and Alumni Office, External Relations, Access and Engagement Directorate etc.).
Other strategies relevant to our mission include our business engagement strategy (which is to build relationships with senior leaders around key themes, focussing on strategic challenges and solutions rather than single function transactions) and our strategy to recruit board-level representatives who support and enhance our mission. Our governing body brings expertise from accountancy and finance, business and enterprise, the public and third sectors, communications, investment and knowledge management, property, high tech, and legal and corporate services.
Aspect 2: Support
Our Development and Alumni Office and Business Services support apprenticeships, executive education, philanthropy, pro-bono/volunteering, input into courses, collaborative research, IP exploitation, provision of analytical services/access to specialist facilities and expert advice.
Our Access and Widening Participation Directorate engage with those who are currently underrepresented in HE through partner organisations including FE, sixth form/adult education colleges, local authorities and third sector organisations.
Our Research Office support collaborative and co-produced research, in partnership with the Impact Officers based in Schools, and also support collaborative research, IP exploitation, provision of analytical services/access to specialist facilities and expert advice.
Birkbeck uses its presence on major social media channels to provide targeted information about Birkbeck's news, events and lobbying campaigns. Our social media links back to our website for more in-depth information.
Individual Academics are also supported to engage through training (part of our professional development framework) and through being able to apply for direct financial support, including:
Up to £2500 for public engagement activities (Wellcome ISSF*)
Up to £2500 for translational activities (Wellcome ISSF*)
Up to £5000 seed funding for research projects with an engaged element (Research Innovation fund, Development and Alumni Office)
Up to £5000 seed funding to consolidate the changes/benefits their research is generating outside the academy (central funds)
Up to £10,000 seed funding to solve real problems in a developing country (GCRF QR)
(*ISSF: Wellcome Trust-funded Institutional Strategic Support Fund).
Aspect 3: Activity
UnLocke project (http://unlocke.org/) is Birkbeck’s knowledge exchange approach in microcosm, characterised by longstanding relationships, participatory research, and our researchers being experts in their field. This is a traditional research project, building on our expertise in fundamental neuroscience, sponsored by the Education Endowment Foundation and the Wellcome Trust, undertaken in collaboration with the Institute of Education UCL, LEARNUS (an educational think-tank) and schools.
The project developed the ‘Stop and Think’ computer game in partnership with 89 schools and 6672 year 3 and 5 children. ‘Stop and Think’ is a short (10 weeks) low cost (£5/pupil over 3 years) intervention to build reasoning skills which generated 2 additional months progress in science and 1 additional month in Maths. Year 3 children with free school meal status benefitted most in maths, year 5 in science. Work is currently ongoing to develop a web-based version of this software to potentially allow it to be rolled out to more schools.
Other recent activities with our key communities include:
Third, voluntary and civil sector organisations, public bodies, NGOs, campaign/pressure groups; cultural organisations, the cultural sector and creative economy
Working with UK Sport and Sport England on Reforming governance in the UK non-profit sport sector (28 BAME board members appointed to date)
Supporting the local community in Grenfell to recover from the fire (sponsored by the national Lottery)
Working with museums to produce significant exhibitions (for example Curating The Fallen Woman at the Foundling Museum)
Re-shaping Approaches to LGBT+ History in the Museums, Archives and Heritage Sector.
Policy makers, advisory boards and panels and other decision-making bodies including parliamentarians and government departments:
Working with advocacy groups and through parliamentary committees to provide an evidence base about The Importance of Diversity in News Sources: Blocking a Major Media Merger
Producing practitioner guidance and training, aimed at enhancing efficiency of court proceedings, supporting court users’ effective participation, and improving legal representation
Supporting national and international banks to plan for Demographic structure and economic trends: planning for Europe’s financial future ...
Using research evidence to inform government policy on early years education
Informing practice and legal frameworks for adoption by LGBT parents
International agencies/(agencies for) developing countries
Kew Gardens, the British Council and Birkbeck supported the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden to launch the Manual of Ethnobotany: Plants, Artefacts, and Indigenous Knowledge to reconnect indigenous communities with artefacts and botanical specimens and guide indigenous biocultural research initiatives
The World Bank commissioned a report on the neuroscience of adult learning to improve the outcome of adult literacy programmes in the developing world
Practitioners, professionals/professional bodies; employers/employer organisations; industry
A commission from the Bar Standards Board and the Solicitors Regulation Authority to investigate the views of the judiciary on the current quality, provision and regulation of advocacy in the Crown Court to be used in training programmes run by both bodies.
A new occupational health board game to help clinicians manage (di)stress was launched in partnership with the NHS Practitioner Health Programme (a confidential award-winning treatment service for doctors and dentists unable to access confidential care through mainstream NHS routes) and Focus Games Ltd
The Pioneer Programme supports students to develop smaller businesses who do not have the capital and are cut out from traditional avenues of funding.
Addiction to video games has recently been recognised by the World Health Organisation. Working with ESL (the world’s largest esports company) we are recruiting people for the first test to check for ‘gaming disorder’
With OptaPro we deliver a short course on Football Analytics to upskill sports and media professionals interested in data analytics.
Working with the London Ambulance Service to Enhance Vehicle Deployment Strategies
The general public and/or specific communities within the general public
Birkbeck’s award-winning Compass project supports asylum seekers to access UK HE.
Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities (BIH) has a global reputation for engaging the public through open debates, lectures, seminars and conferences. Birkbeck Institute for the Moving Image (BIMI) pursues an imaginative public-engagement agenda combining original and ambitious film curation with top-quality academic research; its audience for events which reaches across the globe.
Detailed case studies about other examples can be found here: Impact database : Results and submissions : REF 2021
Aspect 4: Enhancing practice
Our Engagement and Knowledge Exchange strategies sit under our Research Committee and run for 5-7 years. Implementation and refinement of these strategies is considered as necessary between formal review periods.
Each engaged project we undertake had a bespoke set of evaluation criteria derived from the following principles to help us to understand what works:
With research-based engagement, outcomes cannot always be accurately predicted in advance; we always allow a qualitative element of interpretation alongside more quantitative measures
Engagement which is not research-based has success measures baked in from the outset but even here we apply the principles of the responsible use of metrics to all quantitative measures
Many contracts for engagement require a formal report at the end of the project. Where our partner allows us to do so we make use of this information
We make extensive use of feedback forms and sector advice on how to effectively evaluate
In Schools professional staff work one-to-one with individual researchers to understand and quantify the change or benefit that they have brought about
We have an active programme of engagement training for staff and research students
Aspect 5: Building on success
Generally our engagement builds on longstanding relationships, ongoing participatory research, and our researchers being experts in their field.
Birkbeck’s approach to engagement is always collaborative and mutually beneficial, and (in line with our mission) we engage specifically for the purposes of sharing knowledge outside the academy.
As part of our strategy to raise awareness of engagement activities, in 2018 we launched our Public Engagement Awards and from 19/20 onwards promotion criteria for engagement activities have been used.
Birkbeck is a proactive member of with a number bodies who advocate for our mission to increase access to knowledge and opportunity, including the CBI, London First, London Higher etc. These bodies showcase best practice from our engagement activities (for example the CBI’s response to the London Industrial Strategy cited our Pioneer programme for entrepreneurs, London Higher showcased our work with London theatres and the London Ambulance Service in a report about the value to London from its various universities).
Note You are currently viewing the latest version of this narrative statement. View the previous version as published in previous iterations of the KEF (KEF1 and KEF2)