Brief Cases | Linking business and university
Most industry–education partnerships stay on the surface – a guest lecture, a one-off competition, an optional extra.
Brief Cases is different. It places real, live business briefs directly inside the curriculum, assessed as part of the degree itself – so students, academics and industry sponsors all have genuine stakes in the outcome.
Proven at scale
Since 2012, Brief Cases has benefited hundreds of students annually, working with academics across multiple institutions each year to generate hundreds of industry-judged projects across a wide range of themed topics.
Real outcomes
One Brief Cases Gold Award winner – a Graphics student at Staffordshire University – used her project to tackle isolation in older adults through sustainable design. She's since gone on to a creative role at a leading agency, working with major consumer brands, and was recognised on a national industry 'Ones to Watch' list.
"The quality of the work is to commercial standard."
— Kevin O'Donnell, Brief Cases Industry Judge (former Head of Marketing, Xerox UK)
Recognition
Brief Cases' schools programme won the Planet Mark Award for Best Sustainability Campaign.
For business sponsors
Sponsoring a Brief Cases university project gives your business early, structured access to emerging talent – shaped by genuine briefs, judged against commercial standards – while delivering evidenced social value, mapped to TOMS and PPN 002, ready for your next tender.
For schools specifically
For businesses wanting to engage at school level, our programme is mapped to the Gatsby Benchmarks.
Find out how your business can get involved.
Want to go further? Brief Cases' social value evidence feeds directly into a wider PROMISE | PROSPER strategy.