Academic partnerships

Who we are

The Academic Partnerships team supports the development, management and monitoring of the University’s Academic Partnerships in collaboration with teams across SMU and partners. The team is the bridge between the University and Partner Institutions. The team’s work supports the Academic Partnerships strategy 2025-2030 and sees that partnership activity achieves with the University strategic objectives and vision 2030.

What we do

The following areas are within the remit of the Academic Partnerships team:

Partnership development

As a newly established team here at St Mary’s, we identify new opportunities for partnerships and support new partnerships by bringing together partners with SMU’s academic schools and faculties. As part of developing partnerships, we provide advice and guidance to SMU and our partners on the development, approval, and implementation stage. We manage the development and signing of partnership contracts.

Partnership management

We are a key source of support for existing partners. We hold regular meetings with partners and field general partnership enquiries. While supporting faculties to operate partnerships in line with the University’s regulations, policies and procedures, we also mange partnership governance processes to ensure partnerships activity is reported withing the University and through partner JMBs. We manage al partner contracts including queries, amendments, and renewals.

Partnership monitoring

Within Academic Partnerships, we assess the effectiveness of partnerships by tracking partnerships performance against the University's student success metrics. We also monitor partnership resources, income and expenditure to ensure partnerships remain financially sustainable.

Partnerships outreach

Our team works collaboratively with partners to promote SMU’s collaboration and their impact. We engage with external organisations such as DBT, British Council QAA and other bodies to raise SMU’s visibility in the partnerships space. We also support with training and development for staff on partnerships and advise on best practice in partnerships.

Our team consists of Head of Academic Partnerships and Academic Partnerships Officers (Laision), and an Academic Partnerships Officer (Developments).

We are here to support and assist. To contact us, please email Academic.Partnerships@stmarys.ac.uk