Published: 23 Sep 2025 | Last Updated: 23 Sep 2025 17:22:24

The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has once again secured strong results in the fifth Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF5), earning recognition for excellence in research partnerships and collaboration with business.

The Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF) measures how Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) work with businesses, charities and local communities to deliver economic and social benefit. For universities, the KEF provides a valuable benchmark to assess and improve across key areas of engagement.

The RVC sits within the ‘STEM Cluster’, a group of specialist science, technology, engineering and mathematic institutions that produce high volumes of world-class research, particularly in bioscience, veterinary science and engineering. This year, the RVC achieved the top two scoring categories across 8 of the 16 measures, including being within the highest quintile (very high engagement) for its strength in research partnerships and business collaboration, where results surpassed the STEM cluster average.

The RVC’s results reflect its continued focus on translating clinical practice and research into innovations, treatments and technologies that benefit both human and animal health. In 2023/24, the College reported £9.3m in Research and Innovation income, with collaborative research grants and contracts projected to grow further in 2024/25.

Jo Bailey, Head of Knowledge Exchange and Commercialisation at the Royal Veterinary College, said:

“It is always pleasing to receive recognition for our collaboration with industry and other third sector partners through which we are ensuring the research undertaken here at the RVC delivers global impact.”

Liam Good, Associate Dean for Innovation and Professor of Microbiology and Biotechnology at the Royal Veterinary College, said:

“The results from the Knowledge Exchange Framework exercise for 2025 show that RVC researchers and staff continue to successfully apply their expertise to real-world problems, exceeding the STEM cluster average scores in research partnerships and working with business, with benefits to both society and the economy.” 

Supporting collaboration and partnerships with business, the RVC’s London Bioscience Innovation Centre (Ltd) continues to expand its reach. Marking 25 years at the RVC’s Camden campus, the new 37,000 sq ft facility in the APEX building at King’s Cross is already more than half occupied, providing a vibrant base for London’s biotech community and opening new opportunities for collaboration with the RVC.

For more information about KEF5, please visit – https://kef.ac.uk 

Notes to Editors

For media enquiries, please contact:

• rvc@plmr.co.uk 
• Press Line: 0800 368 9520

About the RVC

• The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) is the UK's largest and longest established independent veterinary school and is a Member Institution of the University of London.  
• It is one of the few veterinary schools in the world that hold accreditations from the RCVS in the UK (with associated recognition from the AVBC for Australasia, the VCI for Ireland and the SAVC for South Africa), the EAEVE in the EU, and AVMA (probationary) in the USA and Canada. 
• The RVC is ranked as the top veterinary school in the world in the QS World University Rankings by subject, 2025.  
• The RVC offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in veterinary medicine, veterinary nursing and biological sciences.  
• The RVC is a research-led institution, with 88% of its research rated as internationally excellent or world class in the Research Excellence Framework 2021. 
• The RVC provides animal owners and the veterinary profession with access to expert veterinary care and advice through its teaching hospitals and first opinion practices in London and Hertfordshire.