Loughborough named the UK's leading university for student-employer connections

The ranking is determined by the level of employer engagement demonstrated across both campuses, and recognises the value of events such as the Graduate Recruitment and Placement Fair, which sees over 200 employers flock to the campus to engage with current students.

The ranking values connections established through events on campus, such as employer-led workshops and guest lectures, which are often integrated into each programme at the London campus, as part of the Enterprise Through the Curriculum initiative.

The rankings also saw Loughborough University earn a UK top 10 position for employer partnerships, which recognises the number of industry collaborations in areas such as research.

The QS Graduate Employability Rankings order universities based on their efforts and ability to prepare students for the world of work. The rankings are decided based on five key aspects of graduate employability:

Employer Reputation

Employer reputation is measured by the responses of over 37,000 graduate employers across the world. Each employer was asked to identify which institutions produce the best graduates in their field.

Employer Partnerships

This indicator considers the number of distinct global companies collaborating with each institution in at least three research papers indexed by Scopus. Non-research focused partnerships are also considered. This data is then measured in relation to the number of faculty members employed by each institution.

Employe-student Connections

This indicator involves summing the number of employers who are actively present on campus. Employer-student connections relates to employer presence at careers fairs, industry led presentations, thought leadership workshops and more.

Graduate Employment Rate

This indicator involved measuring the proportion of graduates (excluding those opting to pursue further study or unavailable to work) in full- or part-time employment within 12 months of graduation.

Alumni Outcomes

This indicator involved researching the educational backgrounds of 21,000 of the world’s most innovative, creative, wealthy, entrepreneurial and/or philanthropic individuals, to establish which universities are producing the most successful graduates.