The University of Wolverhampton has been awarded £24.3 million in order to manage an initiative for increasing Knowledge Transfer in the West Midlands.
The cash injection, from Advantage West Midlands, the European Regional Development Fund and the Technology Strategy Board, will increase Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) within the region allowing universities to work with companies on projects which will improve their competitiveness, productivity and safeguard jobs through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills that reside within the UK knowledge base.
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships last from 12 to 36 months (with a Government subsidy of up to 60% available) and involve the creation of a partnership between a company and an academic institute, enabling access to the skills and expertise available. Through a KTP, a recently qualified graduate is recruited to work at the company on the project, supported by an academic supervisor, who also remains linked to the project to provide consultancy support to the business.
Wolverhampton will lead a consortium of all 12 of the regional universities to increase the number of partnerships from 70 to 210 over the next three years.
FinSMEs
14/09/2009