ÖйúAƬ

Several recent issues have covered the topic of business-facing universities, and last week was no exception ("Diversity challenge", 17 January). One indicator of how successful ÖйúAƬ institutions are in this res pect can be derived from the business-research element (BRE) of research funding. This was introduced by the ÖйúAƬ Funding Council for England last year based on research income from business. I have calculated the business-research element per full-time equivalent staff member for UK ÖйúAƬ institutions using data from Hefce and the ÖйúAƬ Statistics Agency, and the institution used in Times ÖйúAƬ as an example of a business-facing university is a long way from the top of this list.

THE TOP TEN INSTITUTION/BRE per FTE academic staff (?)

Cranfield University: 6,096

School of Pharmacy, University of London: 2,588

London Business School: 2,529

Imperial College: 2,207

Royal Veterinary College: 1,636

University of Cambridge: 1,568

Harper Adams University College: 1,469

University of Nottingham: 1,380

St George's Hospital Medical School: 1,315

King's College London: 1,309

It would be interesting if future articles on this topic could give an insight into the success of the institutions at the top of this table.