How Museums can Support Higher Education: Engaging Universities with Museums

Building on the experience of working in a university museum, here I discuss what is currently happening in universities that may provide opportunities for museums to build links and provide services. There can be many benefits for non-university museums to engage in such work, from tapping into to sources of income to the increased profile to be generated from being involved in ground-breaking research. Instead of focussing on museum collections as the resource to be shared, most of the activities described instead highlight the value of sharing spaces and expertise with universities. Museums stand to gain by collaborating with universities in these areas of their work: excellence in teaching, impact and public engagement, innovation, the student experience and Outreach / Access / Widening Participation.