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Our valued strategic partnerships

Our valued strategic partnerships

Our partnerships are a vital part of our success. As a university, we have excellent links with industry, associations and governing bodies. Our partnerships help to enhance the way our students gain knowledge, skills and engage in activities at BNU. The benefits our students bring to our partner businesses has also proved to be invaluable. You can read more about our valued strategic partnerships below. 

If you’d like to know more about our partnerships, you can call +44 (0)1494 522 141 and ask for the Partnerships Team or email us at partnerships@bnu.ac.uk.

Our University was the first in England, to offer a degree apprenticeship in registered nursing for NHS trusts and we have been working with employers, in the private and public sectors, since the Government introduced the levy. We help employers to meet their employment and training needs by delivering both Higher and Degree Apprenticeships. Some of our employers include NHS Trusts, Thames Valley Police, Spire Healthcare and Sky. Higher and degree apprentices spend 80% of their time in their job role and 20% ‘off-the-job’ with a mix of University teaching and work-based training with their employer in the workplace. To read more about our Apprenticeship programmes visit the dedicated pages here.

Academic Partnerships are formal arrangements in which two providers or organisations work together to provide teaching, supervision, support and/or facilities for students as a formal element of a degree or programme or other qualification.

We have a range of Academic Partnerships with many public and private institutions in the UK and globally. 

Below, you can see there are lots of ways we might join forces with someone else to enhance your learning:

Accreditation This is when a programme leads to the award of university credit. It will be designed and delivered by our partner but quality assured by us here at the University.
ArticulationThis is an agreement between us and our partner that we recognise the award they make, and that it counts towards the qualification you are hoping to achieve.
Co-deliveryThis is when a programme leads to you gaining a university credit or award, and is delivered by our partner but quality assured by us.
Distance learning with partner supportThis is a distance learning programme that leads to you gaining a credit or recognised award. It is designed and quality assured by us, and you have some local tutorial support from our partner.
FranchiseThis is when our partner delivers a programme leading to you gaining a credit or award. The programme is designed and quality assured by us.
Joint / dual degreesSometimes we join forces with other degree-awarding bodies to offer joint or dual programmes. How they work and how they’re structured can vary widely.
Off-site deliveryThis is when you study towards a qualification from us, and part or all of your studies take place at the premises of a partner organisation.
ProfessionalThese are degrees with internal professional training. They lead to a recognised award and are designed and delivered by us but include professional content provided by a partner, for instance flight training.
ValidationThis is when a programme leads to you gaining a qualification from the University. It will be designed and delivered by our partner but quality assured by us.

At BNU, we have a range of partner colleges offering a diverse set of courses. You can explore the full list of our partner colleges below which are laid out in alphabetical order and includes a link to the partners website.

AFUM:

  • BA (Hons) Business Management
  • International Master of Business Administration
  • MA Leadership & Management

Amsterdam Fashion Academy: 

  • BA (Hons) Fashion Business
  • BA (Hons) Fashion Design

Aviation Management College: 

  • BA (Hons) Airline & Airport Management

Buckinghamshire College Group:

  • FdA Business Management
  • FdSc Computing
  • FdA Early Years
  • Teacher training - Award, Certificate & Diploma in Education & Training
  • Certificate in Education (incorporating the Diploma in Education and Training)

Bucks Regional Centre:

Bucks Regional Centre is the regional representative and extended arm of Buckinghamshire New University, established in the United Arab Emirates.

Burnley College: 

  • BSc (Hons) Behavioural Science
  • BSc (Hons) Behavioural Science with Foundation Year
  • BA (Hons) Business Management
  • BA (Hons) Business Management with Foundation Year
  • BSc (Hons) Business Psychology
  • BSc (Hons) Business Psychology with Foundation Year
  • BSc (Hons) Computing
  • BSc (Hons) Computing with Foundation Year
  • BA (Hons) Early Childhood and Education Studies
  • BA (Hons) Early Childhood and Education Studies with Foundation Year
  • BSc (Hons) Games Development
  • BSc (Hons) Games Development with Foundation Year
  • BSc (Hons) Police Studies with Criminal Investigation
  • FDA Primary Education
  • BA (Hons) Professional Practice (WCYP)
  • BSc (Hons) Sport & Exercise Science
  • BSc (Hons) Sport & Exercise Science with Foundation Year
  • BSc (Hons) Sport Development & Coaching
  • BSc (Hons) Sport Development & Coaching with Foundation Year
  • BSc (Hons) Sports Psychology
  • BSc (Hons) Strength & Conditioning
  • BSc (Hons) Strength & Conditioning with Foundation Year
  • Degree Apprenticeship Chartered Manager
  • Degree Apprenticeship Digital Technology Solutions
  • BEng (Hons) Engineering Design Degree Apprenticeship

CAE Oxford Aviation Academy (CAE):

  • BSc Air Transport Management with Airline Pilot Training

Centre for Health Communications Research 

  • PG Cert Health Communications, Engagement, and Consultation

Court Theatre Training Company: 

  • BA (Hons) Acting

Cromwell UK International Education: 

  • BA (Hons) Business Management
  • BA (Hons) Business Management (Top-Up)
  • International Master of Business Administration (Top-Up)
  • BSc (Hons) Accounting and Finance (Direct Entry to Level 6)

Dancebox Studios and Theatre Works / Milton Keynes:  

  • BA (Hons) Professional Dance and Musical Theatre

David Game College:

  • BA (Hons) Business Management (Top-Up)
  • BA (Hons) Business Management
  • BA (Hons) Business Management with Foundation Year

IDM Nations Campus: 

  • BA (Hons) Business Management
  • BA (Hons) Business Management (Top-Up)
  • BSc (Hons) Computing
  • International Master of Business Administration (Top-Up)
  • LLB (Hons) Law (Top-Up)
  • LLM Master of Law (Top-Up)

IIU (IDM International University) (Sharjah)

  • LLB (Hons) Law
  • LLB (Hons) Law (Direct Entry to L6)
  • LLM Master of Law
  • LLM Master of Law (Top-Up)

International Academy of Osteopathy (IAO Ghent): 

  • BSc (Hons) Osteopathic Studies
  • MSc Osteopathy

Istituto Superiore di Osteopatia (ISO Milan): 

  • BSc (Hons) Osteopathic Principles
  • PG Dip Advanced Osteopathic Practice
  • PG Cert Advanced Osteopathic Practice
  • PG Cert Advanced Osteopathic Practice (Education)
  • PG Cert Advanced Osteopathic Practice (Obstetrics)
  • PG Cert Advanced Osteopathic Practice (Paediatrics)
  • PG Cert Advanced Osteopathic Practice (Pain Management)
  • PG Cert Advanced Osteopathic Practice (Sports Medicine)
  • PG Cert Advanced Osteopathic Practice (Voice Disorders)
  • MSc Advanced Osteopathic Practice
  • MSc Osteopathy

Leading Edge Aviation Limited

  • BSc Air Transport Management with Airline Pilot Training

London School of Commerce & IT (LSCI)

  • BA (Hons) Business Management
  • BA (Hons) Business Management with Foundation Year
  • BA (Hons) Business Management (Top Up)
  • BSc (Hons) Health and Social Science with Foundation Year

London School of Science & Technology (LSST): 

  • BA (Hons) Business Management
  • BA (Hons) Business Management with Foundation Year
  • BA (Hons) Business Management (Top-Up)
  • BSc (Hons) Health & Social Science
  • BSc (Hons) Health & Social Science with Foundation Year

Magna Carta College: 

  • BA (Hons) Business Management (Top-Up)
  • International Master of Business Administration (Top-Up)

Mont Rose College: 

  • BA (Hons) Business Management
  • BA (Hons) Business Management with Foundation Year
  • BA (Hons) Business Management (Top-up)
  • BA (Hons) Integrated Health & Social Care (Top-Up)
  • BA (Hons) International Hospitality Management (Top-Up)
  • BSc (Hons) Computing
  • International Master of Business Administration

Newbury College in partnership with University Centre Newbury:

  • BEng (Hons) Engineering Design
  • MSc Engineering Design
  • Postgraduate Engineer

Oxford Business College: 

  • BA (Hons) Business Management
  • BA (Hons) Business Management with Foundation Year
  • BA (Hons) Business Management (Top-Up)

Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust

  • Graduate Certificate Low-Intensity Psychological Interventions
  • Graduate Certificate Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioner
  • Postgraduate Certificate Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioner

Patria Pilot Finland:

  • BSc Air Transport Management with Airline Pilot Training

Regent College: 

  • BA (Hons) Business Management
  • BA (Hons) Business Management with Foundation Year
  • BA (Hons) Business Management (Top-Up)
  • BSc (Hons) Health & Social Science
  • BSc (Hons) Health & Social Science with Foundation Year
  • BA (Hons) Marketing
  • BA (Hons) Marketing with Foundation Year

Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead (RBWM): 

  • Post Graduate Certificate in Educational Practice

Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust: 

  • MSc Cardiorespiratory Nursing

Scotland Chiropractic College Edinburgh:

  • Master of Chiropractic

Windsor Forest Colleges Group (Langley College):

  • FdA Business Management
  • FdA Early Years Practice
  • FdA Health & Social Care
  • FdA Primary Education

Our Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor for Health and Social Care, Professor Karen Buckwell-Nutt sits on the Strategic Board for the Buckinghamshire Health and Social Care Academy. This innovative partnership brings together Buckinghamshire New University, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, Buckinghamshire Council, Buckinghamshire College Group, Buckinghamshire LEP, Fed Bucks (the GPs’ Federation), NHS England, and the University of Bedfordshire. The Academy’s purpose is to optimise the health and social care workforce’s education, training and skills development through partnership working across systems, ensuring the best possible delivery of care to the population of Buckinghamshire.

We have created a new Institute for Health and Social Care to provide strategic oversight for all health and social care activities across the University. We have very strong links with NHS Trusts and social care providers in the region. The new Institute will support the University’s commitment to help shape and support the health and social care agenda in the region and across the UK. It's an exciting opportunity to both strengthen existing and forge new relationships with our NHS Trust partners and FE colleges to co-create and deliver, relevant work-based training programmes. 

Our research is focused on ensuring that the University is a catalyst for positive change. We are proud to be a partner in the Buckinghamshire Life Sciences Innovation Centre which supports innovative businesses to develop products focused on health and wellbeing, prevention and public health, and in so doing meet the health needs of our region and improve patient outcomes. The University is also among a consortium of eight higher education institutions, led by Imperial College London, tackling medtech challenges in the MedTech SuperConnector programme. 

The Arc Universities Group (AUG) is a network of universities between Oxford and Cambridge, formed to foster collaboration, research, skills and innovation to support the economic growth of the Oxford - Cambridge Arc region. Buckinghamshire New University is one of nine Universities, working together alongside business and government to support growth, inclusivity and resilience across the Oxford-Cambridge Arc. To find out more, visit: arcuniversities.co.uk 

At BNU, we are responding to regional and global environmental challenges in the following areas:

Clean water: Research on water security and pollution levels is both informing Government policy and helping to improve access to clean water on a global scale, as well as for the Arc region. BNU is part of a four-year £4.3m PANIWATER joint EU-Indian funded project where we have designed prototype solar water disinfection (SoDis) jerry cans to kill harmful microbes in water to benefit India's rural communities.

Life below water: By highlighting and researching marine environmental challenges, the Arc universities are helping to drive initiatives that have a global impact, not only on policy but also on the attitudes of individuals. At BNU, our research is addressing the decarbonisation of sport leisure marinas through our involvement in the Carbon Neutral Management of Sport Marinas International Master Modules programme.

Life on land: BNU has biodiversity projects across our estates including green rooves and wildflower and meadow planting programmes.

All AUG members are also working in partnership to raise public awareness of the environmental challenges. BNU is part of SOCLIMPACT, a European innovation project funded by the EU Horizon 2020 scheme. This innovative project models climate change effects and their socioeconomic impacts in European islands, aiming to develop climate projections, and assess impact, risk and vulnerability to island communities.

Aviation and aerospace

Universities in the Arc region also play a highly important role in the development of the aviation and aerospace sectors. In 2020, AUG members began working together so that real progress could be made in readying the industry for its transition to net-zero emissions, in line with the UK Government's ambitious target to be carbon neutral by 2050.

This collective approach has led to the proposed Oxford-Cambridge Virtual Institute for Aviation (OCAVIA). This will enable real-time modelling and integration of technology into aircraft, and aircraft into wider operations; this will include assessing how the jobs, responsibilities and skills of tomorrow's aviation professionals will inevitably need to adapt to the new operating environment.

BNU makes its own contribution to the industry with our pioneering dual aviation and pilot degree programmes which equip professionals with the skills they need to succeed in an ever-changing and dynamic sector.

Buckinghamshire New University has received Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) funding to support a variety of projects that benefit Buckinghamshire’s economy and health sector, including its Health and Digital Business Hubs and the Bucks Health and Social Care Academy. 

Professor Gavin Brooks, our Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, chairs a county-wide group charged by Government that reports to the Buckinghamshire LEP Board and ensures that the skills taught in universities, schools and colleges match what local employers need for their businesses to thrive, both now and in the future. The Skills Advisory Panel (SAP) brings together local employers and education providers to address the county’s skills challenges, which include helping people who have lost their jobs because of COVID-19 to retrain or transfer their existing skills to another sector. 

Buckinghamshire New University is a partner in Study Higher, part of the Uni-Connect programme which targets students from areas where progression to higher education is low. As well as taking part in joint ventures with our partners – Oxford Brookes University, The University of Reading and The University of Oxford – we have successfully launched our Simulate Your Future project. This uses a state of the art ‘simulation vehicle’ to promote higher education study across the region through our cutting-edge ‘simulator’ technology that places participants in virtual career environments.  

We proudly partner with Sport England as an accredited delivery site for the Talent Athlete Scholarship Support (TASS) to support talented athletes’ sporting and education aspirations and access to our Human Performance, Exercise and Wellbeing Centre and Sports & Wellbeing Clinic. The University also partners with Bucks Students’ Union, Swim England, and Wycombe District Swimming Club, as one of only five national performance centres for swimming to promote dual career development for athletes. We are one of only 11 universities to be accredited by Sport England and the Football Association Women’s Super League Academy programme (linked with Reading Women’s FC Academy) to deliver sport science services and support players’ academic aspirations. Our partnerships with Academy 23 and Reading Rockets are the latest additions to our exciting development pathways for student athletes. 

We are proud to host the National Disability Arts Collection and Archive (NDACA), the first physical location of its kind dedicated to Britain’s disability arts movement which features more than 3,500 pieces of artwork. Our commitment to NDACA is a symbol of our overall commitment to supporting achievement among disabled people. We are excited about welcoming researchers, heritage professionals and those interested in this important area of the UK’s cultural identity to Bucks New University, as well as drawing on the archive to enrich our courses and research. 

The University is represented on the development board of Buckinghamshire Culture - a cultural development partnership to meet the need to better connect, celebrate and enhance the creative and cultural organisations in Buckinghamshire. It is runs projects to drive the Buckinghamshire Cultural Strategy, including Bucks in 100 Objects and Bucks Cultural Leadership, and works with our students and links the cultural communities. 

The University’s conference business based at Missenden Abbey works with the Missenden Walled Garden Charity to maintain 10-acres of land on the grounds, ensuring the preservation of the conservation area. The charity, which provides learning and social support to people with learning difficulties, has regenerated the vegetable garden and orchard, growing vegetables and fruit which, since 2019, have been used in the kitchens for meal preparation.  

All produce is grown in an ethical way to ensure sustainability and the nutritional value of meals and any excess, particularly the surplus as a result of the COVID situation, is donated to the kitchens of local residential homes. Fallen trees are also replanted, with 10 substantial trees planted over the last three years including a Black Poplar tree, a declining species that is rare in England. The historic orchard is under a five-year regeneration plan which includes an increase in number of fruit trees, regeneration of historical trees and introduction of beehives. The plan is 70% complete within the plan’s first two years.