Our Place

We believe in embedding the University within the wider community by bringing people with shared values together. With this in mind, we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Exeter Science Centre to further our shared ambitions to make a difference in Exeter and the wider region. We will support each other’s goals and create a positive future by bridging the gap between research, industry and the public. This partnership will seek to create a tangible impact on the economic, social and cultural development of the South West, as well as providing opportunities for collaboration in education and research.

Find out more about the Memorandum of Understanding.

We are committed to ensuring that our international teaching, learning and employability opportunities will prepare our students to become active global citizens making a positive impact on the world. We believe that education has no boundaries and we are encouraging our students to think, act and participate globally. We provide our students with a range of opportunities to explore multidisciplinary, multinational perspectives. We offer initiatives such as Future17, where students work in international teams to tackle real world challenges aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals; Connected Classrooms which links classrooms across the globe; and the Higher Education Youth Talent Alliance, which sees us partner with top institutions in China.

See how we’re transforming education through global collaboration here.

We aim to be a globally networked university, offering outstanding education and research opportunities for our communities, and creating strong partnerships to tackle the world’s biggest challenges. We currently have over 30,000 students studying with us from 185 different countries, whilst around 100 nationalities are represented by our staff. In January 2023, we were ranked 39^th in the Times Higher Education (THE) league table of Most International Universities. This considers each institution’s proportion of international students and staff, its global reputation and the percentage of its research papers published with a co-author from at least one other country.

Find out more.

Researchers from our Environment and Sustainability Institute have worked in collaboration with Cornwall Council and Cormac on the Making Space for Nature project.  The project has helped to transform 34 hectares of urban green spaces across Cornwall into community and wildlife havens, increasing biodiversity in urban areas and helping to mitigate the effects of climate change.  What’s more, the project received international recognition having won the ‘Excellence in Biodiversity, Conservation and Enhancement’ category in the Landscape Institute Awards 2022.

Find out more about the project.

We are excited to be hosting the British Science Festival (BSF) in September 2023, with events located across the city and University campus, for visitors from Exeter and beyond to attend. The BSF is one of Europe’s longest-established science festivals, which travels to a different part of the UK each year. It brings science to the wider public in the form of installations, exhibitions, talks, panel discussions, performances and more. As a hub for transformative research and innovation in the region, we are home to the five most influential climate scientists in the UK, and our researchers will be on hand to showcase our pioneering work towards a more sustainable, healthy and socially just future, providing solutions to the biggest challenges of our time.

Find out more about the festival.

We understand the importance of supporting our local communities and heritage, through collaboration and shared knowledge.  In July 2022 Dr Tony Lidington from the University helped to bring traditional seaside entertainment back to Devon. Thanks to Tony the sentry boxes previously in disrepair standing guard outside Teignmouth Grand Pier have now both been restored, with one now transformed into a “peepbox” showing old and new images of the town.

Find out more.

Shortly after the launch of Strategy 2030 we signed our first Civic University agreement in October 2021. The Exeter Civic University Agreement (signed jointly by Exeter City Council, the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust, Exeter College and the University) establishes how we will work with city partners to deliver shared goals on community priorities including things like sustainable and inclusive growth and health and wellbeing. The Exeter Civic University Agreement is the first to be signed in the region but we are also working with partners across Devon and Cornwall to sign agreements with both counties.

Watch the video to find out more