A new scheme has been launched by Birmingham City University with the aim of helping businesses access funding streams and expert advice.
The Advantage service will provide companies with detailed information on grants, academic expertise and connections with other businesses and potential employees.
The university says it wants to dispel the perception of 鈥渟tuffy academics in ivory towers鈥 by enabling local businesses to benefit from the expertise of its teaching staff and .
Professor Julian Beer, Pro Vice Chancellor (research, enterprise & business engagement) at BCU, said: 鈥淎dvantage gives us the opportunity to explode the myth of stuffy academics in ivory towers and open up our doors to the companies that are the heartbeat of this region鈥檚 economy.
鈥淎s a university we of course pride ourselves on the education we provide for our students, but we are also a resource for people and the business community in this the region and we want to make more of that.
鈥淕overnment has already identified that the West Midlands can be in this country and we want this scheme to help provide the spark that really gets that engine started.鈥
As part of the service the university will become only the second educational institution in the country to provide organisations with free access to a database containing thousands of grants which can help fund business expansion.
Businesses will also be given access to research and projects taking place at the university and can call on the expertise of almost 1,000 academic staff - in areas spanning law, health, education, business and architecture.
The initiative will also provide businesses with use of a specially developed online tool.
They will also be offered face to face advice and given the opportunity to speak to key business, policy and legislative figures both within and outside the university.
It is hoped connections with research and projects will help support Birmingham鈥檚 thriving start-up scene which saw it named as the most entrepreneurial city outside London by Start Up Britain last year.
The university also expects the scheme to build on the established links it has with big businesses in the region such as Jaguar Land Rover.
The Advantage initiative has been designed to align with key BCU partners including the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP, the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce and Aston University.
It already works alongside the chamber鈥檚 Growth Hub and Aston University through the Goldman Sachs 10,000 small businesses programme.
