Solent University among the top 10 producing startups
Research carried out by business financial platform Tide revealed the universities that have produced the most graduate startups, including sole traders, since 2014/15, and Solent University was among those ranked.
The top 10 universities that have produced the most startup businesses:
| Rank | HE provider | Region | Graduate startups since 2014/15 |
| 1 | Royal College of Art | London | 1,655 |
| 2 | Kingston University | London | 1,630 |
| 3 | Falmouth University | South West | 1,135 |
| 4 | University of Bedfordshire | East of England | 870 |
| 5 | The University of Central Lancashire | North West | 851 |
| 6 | University of the Arts, London | London | 783 |
| 7 | Solent University | South East | 780 |
| 8 | Conservatoire for Dance and Drama | London | 641 |
| 9 | The Manchester Metropolitan University | North West | 608 |
| 10 | The University of Lincoln | East Midlands | 594 |
Interestingly, it wasn’t a Russell Group university or a business school that produced the most startups, but actually, the Royal College of Art. The fact that the Royal College and other arts universities produced so many businesses is likely due to the fact that a large number of artists and people in creative industries are self-employed.
Another London university was close behind in second, with Kingston University producing 1,630 startups since 2014/15, with startups from Kingston benefiting from investment from a partnership with Santander.
The university with the most grad startups outside of London is Falmouth, located in Cornwall. Falmouth is primarily a creative university and provides support via its Launchpad programme, which has a specific focus on helping students to bring their ideas into the market.
Further Insights:
- The university with the greatest income from the intellectual property of its students was the University of Oxford, standing at an incredible £213 million in just the last five years.
- The university with the third-highest income from the ideas of its students is Sheffield, at £64 million.
- Oxford students had over 3,000 patents granted in the last five years, landing it the top spot as the higher education provider with the most patents granted
- Students from the University of Cambridge have been responsible for 1,377 patents that have been granted in the last five years, placing it in second place, behind Oxford.
