In addition to its own expertise, the University enjoys partnerships with many of the UK’s foremost marine autonomy innovators, spanning the private and public sector. It has a long-standing connection to the Royal Navy, with the two organisations working together to advance research in marine autonomy, maritime cyber security, floating offshore wind and artificial intelligence. It is also part of a multinational consortium, led by Saab and selected by NATO to lead its Allied Underwater Battlespace Mission Network project (AUWB-MN), and is working to establish ways to deliver underwater interoperability between the militaries of allied nations.

The University also enjoys partnerships with global companies based in Plymouth in addition to countless smaller firms based in the city and across the South West. In addition to research and innovation collaborations, many of these companies count significant numbers of Plymouth graduates among their workforces, a number only set to increase over time with greater awareness of the sector at a regional and national level. It is also playing a lead role in city and regional collaborations, such as the Future Autonomous at Sea Technologies (FAST) Cluster, the Marine Research Plymouth Alliance, Maritime UK South West, and the South West Regional Defence and Security Cluster.