Real-World Innovation: Working With Solent University on New Use Cases

We often describe ourselves as being based in “leafy” Fareham, and while that may involve a touch of poetic licence, anyone familiar with this corner of the South Coast will understand the sentiment.

We may not sit on a tree-lined suburban avenue, but we are proud to be part of one of the most technically capable counties in the UK.

Hampshire occupies a uniquely powerful position: within easy reach of London, yet offering the space, quality of life, and a community feel usually associated with a more rural setting.

It’s also home to an impressive concentration of innovative technology businesses, making it a region where ambition and expertise genuinely thrive.

Add to that a number of highly regarded universities on our doorstep, and it’s easy to see why we’re passionate about engaging with the next generation of bright, creative minds.

What Happened

Last year we embarked on an exciting new relationship with Solent University in Southampton, partnering with students to bring some fresh thinking, and an opportunity for them to experience real-world collaboration with a local business.

What started as an exploratory engagement in 2025 quickly became a partnership we are keen to continue supporting, and in 2026, that collaboration is going from strength to strength.

A few weeks ago, I went in to brief the students of the Software Engineering course as part of their Industrial Consulting module.

Following our success with the Smart Data Challenge Prize with our Nigel proposition, we were keen to explore and develop new functionality for potential use cases.

It’s a brilliant opportunity to take established solutions and look at them through a fresh lens, combining academic insight with practical business challenges.

Why It Matters

One of the most valuable aspects of this partnership is the way it bridges theory and practice.

For students, this module offers them an opportunity for hands-on experience in tackling genuine commercial challenges.

For us, it provides access to emerging talent, innovative thinking, and an opportunity to have our own assumptions about how something should be built challenged.

What We’re Seeing So Far

When I visited the class in January, I was impressed.

The students asked thoughtful, probing questions.

Not just about the technical brief, but about the user’s needs, constraints, scalability, technical infrastructure, and long-term product vision.

There was even a student brave enough to ask for clarity on a dreaded acronym - jargon that we sadly all bandy about in industry with little thought.

There is something intriguing about working with a group of young people (cries in older millennial) who are not bogged down by the legacy of the way things have been done before.

Students often spot incredible opportunities that even the most experienced teams overlook simply because they aren’t constrained by established ways of working.

What’s Next

By collaborating with local institutions like Solent University, we are reinforcing our commitment to our B Corp accreditation by working collaboratively with the local community, while also strengthening our commitment to continuous improvement and innovation.

This project will continue over the next few weeks, and I’m genuinely excited to see how students develop their ideas and look forward to sharing more information about this partnership later this year.

References

Solent University, Southampton Solent University

Smart Data Challenge, Beyond Encryption

Reviewed by

Sam Kendall, 24.02.26