Four out of five higher education institutions report that employers are engaged or very engaged in the development of their curricula to ensure the courses meet their needs.

De Montfort University is keen to eliminate obstacles that make it harder for small firms to work with its 3,000 staff and 20,000 students. The university’s DMU Corporate is a central point of contact for new corporate clients at its Innovation Centre on the main campus.

Organisations approaching the university through the centre meet with members of the DMU Corporate team for exploratory discussions and diagnosis of their business needs.  The team then advises on appropriate solutions and can even act as go-between for the client with the university’s academic and research staff.

The university has put together cost-effective packages, including distance-learning materials, that can be used in the workplace.