They allow academics to partner with innovative businesses looking to expand their research and development capabilities, and for those academics with existing links to such companies, provide an attractive funding opportunity for further research & development projects.
New Knowledge Transfer Training Programme
The University of Liverpool’s Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Team are seeking to recruit University of Liverpool academic researchers with an interest in developing collaborations with industry for a brand new certified ‘Knowledge Transfer Training Programme.’ Whether you don’t know where to start or are just starting out with business engagement and KTPs this course is for you! Read full details about the programme (staff only).
Funding
KTP is classed as research related income. Partnerships are funded through a combination of the business partner and government. The level of funding contributed by the business will depend on its size – Business Gateway can advise on this.
The majority of partnerships are funded by Innovate UK.
The University of Liverpool has a highly successful track record in securing KTP funding. The success rate for proposals currently stands at over 95%, and grant writing is part of the service provided by Business Gateway.
Impact
KTP is a particularly attractive scheme for those looking to contribute an Impact case study in the next REF cycle. Upon conclusion, partners in each KTP project must produce a report with clear quantified results of the research. KTP is thus a scheme that will allow you to provide evidence of impact from your research involving organisations outside academia.
Further benefits
In addition to providing an opportunity to make a real impact within an innovative business, participation in a KTP has many benefits for both research, teaching, and academic outputs.
Because partnerships allow you to apply your research expertise to a practical solution, the results often lead to research publications, academic papers, and further research questions. You may be able to solve a business problem through the application of existing research, and produce publications which focus on its application in a real life setting, or you could solve the business problem with innovative research, and produce outputs based on the new knowledge generated and its application.
You can expect to gain new case studies and data for teaching, and projects for your undergraduate and/or postgraduate students. Academics often report that they are engaging in further collaboration with the company after the partnership has officially ended. In addition, KTP represents a real opportunity to create employment for your highly skilled graduates.
A sample of final reports on 15 recently completed University of Liverpool KTP projects highlights their benefits:
- almost all resulted in opportunities for ancillary postgraduate student projects running alongside the main KTP
- half the KTPs also produced undergraduate projects
- two thirds of the KTPs resulted in case studies to inform teaching
- two thirds of the KTPs produced material for conference/peer reviewed publications (one project produced 10 publications)
- two KTPs led to licensing deals, a third led to a commercial partnership.
Your commitment
Knowledge is transferred through the Associate throughout the partnership; therefore you can expect to spend 10% of your time supervising the graduate. In the initial proposal stage, more time may be required; however, the KTP team at Business Gateway will assist you with this to minimise the impact on your time. Partnerships can vary in length, from one to three years, depending on the objectives of the project.
Assistance
The KTP Office, located in Business Gateway, offers a full range of services to support you and the company from your initial enquiry through to the end of the partnership.
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