Solent University has been ranked fourth in the sector, its highest ever position, for graduate start-ups and appears in the top ten for the fourth year running, according to the latest data released from the Higher Education Business and Community Interaction (HE-BCI) survey.

The results from the survey, which looks at how universities interact and exchange knowledge with the wider world, mean Solent has moved up two places, from sixth to fourth.

In 2018/19, Solent had 155 graduate start-ups, which includes self-employment, freelance work and new businesses.

“Our continued rise in this table reflects the important work we do in supporting students to start their own businesses” says Vice-Chancellor Professor Karen Stanton.

“Many of our courses have enterprise units embedded within them, and students are encouraged to take enterprise options, such as those offered by Solent Creatives, our unique in-house student creative agency. We also offer a start-up programme for students and graduates through Solent Futures, our employability team.

“With the additional challenges Covid-19 is presenting to graduating students, it’s more important than ever that they are equipped with the ability to set up, run and understand small businesses. Providing our alumni with these skills will not only help them achieve success in their chosen field, but also play a key role in the future growth of industry, communities and the economy,” she continues.

Solent’s graduate start-ups come from a wide-range of specialisms, with the most common being the creative industries – film production, photography, graphic design and content creation.