Solving global challenges through research and enterprise

Ambitious research delivering impact across industries, communities and global challenges

Our research and enterprise activities are at the heart of our contribution to society, addressing real-world challenges and driving innovation that shapes industries, public services and communities. We are building on a strong foundation of quality and collaboration to grow the reach and impact of our work - from deepening partnerships and increasing external income to expanding our community of researchers.

Our priorities for 2030 are to…

be ranked among the top 50 universities in Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2029;
to sustain or improve our Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF) position and our Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) results;
to increase our research and enterprise income by at least 25%;
increase our postgraduate research student numbers by at least 10%;
and to increase the proportion of staff classified as having significant responsibility for research.

To achieve these targets, we will…

deliver excellent research that contributes to society, the environment, and the economy, by building on our core strengths;
strengthen collaborations that address regional, national and global challenges;
expand our partnerships with business and industry to deliver research informed solutions;
increase the visibility of the excellent research and enterprise activity at Herts by focusing on key priority areas, to clearly articulate what we want to be known for;
take action to ensure our infrastructure and partnerships are aligned to our objectives and to showcase the excellent staff and students, who are pivotal to our success;
foster a vibrant, diverse, and inclusive culture and environment that enables our research and innovation community to be exceptional.

How we're making progress...

Building on strong foundations, we have increased our research and enterprise income and grown our postgraduate research student community.

We achieved the highest ranking in KEF 2025 and 2026 of “Very High Engagement”, for our activities focused on Research Partnerships and Local Growth and Regeneration.

We have also been accredited with the prestigious Small Business Charter, recognising our outstanding support for SMEs, entrepreneurs and local economic growth.

Herts has been awarded £13.5million – our biggest ever research grant – to expand and progress our sector-leading, research-led development of biodetection technologies against harmful, airborne pathogens.

Professor Daniel McCluskey, Dean of the School of Physics, Engineering and Computer Science, who co-leads on biodetection research, explains why our research is so important for the nation's health and safety.

Learn about Herts' biodetection research

Find out more

Take a closer look at how research and enterprise at Herts connect ideas with real-world application – accelerating innovation, strengthening partnerships and delivering measurable outcomes across sectors.