KTP North East

Academic
The Regions Universities are actively involved in promoting Knowledge Transfer Partnerships to Companies and academics within their own institutions.

What is a KTP?
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) allow businesses to access the expertise available in the UK’s knowledge base.

KTPs are a three-way partnership between a company, a graduate and a university. An 18-month to 3-year strategic project is developed between a company and academic partner. Together they appoint a high calibre graduate to carry out the project work over the duration of the project with the support of the academic and company mentors.

The aim of each KTP is to:

	Enhance the business relevance of the academic’s research
	Improve the competitiveness of the business
	Enhance the career prospects of the graduate

At the heart of each Knowledge Transfer Partnership is a relationship between a company and staff in a Knowledge Base organisation applying their expertise to a project that is central to the development of their Company Partner.
In the process, staff in the Higher Education Institution are able to enhance the business relevance of their teaching and research.

KTPs allow academic staff the opportunity to:

	Apply knowledge and expertise to real life business problems
	Generate research ideas and teaching materials relevant to business
	Publish papers and establish long term links with local companies
	Enhance the departments RAE rating by their involvement in a KTP Scheme
	Access grant funding to buy out their time

KTPs also offer academic staff the opportunity to enhance their reputations by leading government-backed collaborations with businesses to bring consultancy income into the school.

Where can I find out more?
To find out how KTP works within your University, contact your University KTP Office. Also visit www.ktponline.org.uk for more detailed information on this nationally recognised Dti flagship scheme.

"KTP's provide an excellent vehicle for the two way transfer of knowledge and skills between the University and the partner organisation. Not only are you as an academic able to apply and test your knowledge and abilities in a real world environment, but the knowledge gained from such collaborative working has a direct and measurable improvement on the ability to teach and research the particular subject of the project"

Quote from Sunderland academic, Simon Stobart