Since our formation in Spring 2025, our team has been dedicated to building meaningful connections between UWE Bristol, our alumni community, and the wider business world. We exist to create and nurture partnerships that deliver real value – for our collaborators, our university, and our students.
Working across key sectors such as healthcare, engineering, and the creative industries, we support a wide range of partners – from recent graduates to established organisations – by understanding their goals, identifying opportunities, and guiding them through the unique landscape of higher education. We know that navigating a large university can be daunting, and we’re here to make that journey easier.
Whether you’re looking to host student placements, raise your company’s profile on campus, collaborate on research and innovation, or explore funding opportunities, our team is ready to help you make it happen. Below, you’ll meet the people behind the partnerships – each bringing their own expertise and passion to the table.
We look forward to connecting with you.
Meet the team
I’m Verity and I lead the team, focussing on both alumni and business partnerships. Outside of higher education, my background is in Financial Services, and I now support our partnerships that fall under the umbrella of Professional Services – from finance and banking to law and consulting, I’m keen to work with businesses of all sizes to support their needs, and engage with alumni in these sectors for mutually beneficial opportunities.
I’m Rob, Business Partnerships Manager for Clean Energy at UWE Bristol. With an academic background in sustainable innovation, I focus on building strategic, mutually beneficial partnerships between the University and organisations across the sustainability sector. Whether you’re seeking research collaboration, student and graduate engagement, or workforce upskilling (or all of the above!), please do get in touch.
I’m Jon, Partnerships Manager for Healthcare and Health Tech. I have extensive experience working with healthcare providers, health tech start ups and academics in this space. My background is in Skills and Apprenticeships but I’m also on hand to talk to employers about research, funding bids and activities that get you in front of our amazing students and graduates!
I’m Amelia, the Partnerships Manager for Advanced Engineering & Defence at UWE Bristol. I use specialist knowledge and insights to facilitate strategic collaborations and partnerships across industry and academia, driving innovation, student engagement, and regional growth. Let’s connect and explore how we can make a difference together.
I’m a Business Development Manager at UWE Bristol, working across agri-food tech and creative tech. I build meaningful connections between businesses and the university, helping drive innovation, collaboration, and growth. I’m passionate about unlocking potential through partnerships that make a real impact across sectors and communities.
Natalie Welch and Rose Adderley
We help alumni to stay connected with UWE Bristol – whether that’s for your personal career development, supporting your business, or helping our students succeed. We’re always on the lookout for great alumni speakers and success stories across all sectors, so if you’re an alum please update your details and keep in touch.
Case studies
Accelerated Knowledge Transfer (AKT) partnership
UWE Bristol recently announced a new Accelerated Knowledge Transfer (AKT) partnership with Bristol Drugs Project, co-funded by Innovate UK. This collaboration aims to develop and trial a digital communications campaign to facilitate engagement with early intervention in ketamine dependency. The development of the campaign will involve researching barriers to users’ engagement with the night/festival programmes, developing effective messaging and identifying media and influencers through which the campaign may be delivered.
This partnership was initiated after identifying Innovate UK’s AKT theme a funding theme on reducing harm from drug and alcohol use, and the team engaged with Bristol Drugs Project through existing networks to connect with their CEO, Lydia Plant. Working collaboratively, we explored their business needs and identified the project that would best support their objectives in this area. We’re confident this project will be highly beneficial for both organisations and pave the way for future collaborations. Find out more about Bristol Drug Project and the collaboration in our UWE blog.
Collaborative research partnership
UWE Bristol partners with businesses across sectors to deliver collaborative research that drives innovation and growth, combining academic expertise with industry insight to solve real-world challenges. For example, a joint PhD with a pharmaceutical company led to breakthroughs in microbial biofilm testing, resulting in new products and commercial licensing. In another project, UWE worked with the Office for National Statistics to develop an AI-driven tool that improved data quality and confidentiality, reducing the risk of breaches.
Research collaboration can take many forms, and the Business and Alumni Partnerships team is ready to connect you with the right expertise to address the challenges most relevant to your business.
Please get in touch at uwebusiness@uwe.ac.uk to connect with us.