Knowledge Transfer Partnerships

Unlock your company’s potential with a Knowledge Transfer Partnership. The KTP is based on partnerships between academic groups and companies who need to access skills and knowledge in order to innovate. Such companies might, for instance, want to develop new products, improve processes, adopt new management techniques or break into new markets. The programme is best suited to manufacturers with less than 250 employees.

What is a KTP?

Knowledge Transfer Partnership is a Government programme that helps companies access the knowledge and skills within the UK's 'Knowledge Base' (universities, colleges, independent research and technology organisations, and Government-funded research institutions).

KTP helps companies to draw on Knowledge Base expertise by supporting key development projects whilst developing able graduates into future business leaders.
From time to time all developing businesses, large or small, need help. Finding the right kind of support can often prove a major barrier to company development. Moving a business forward might depend on a variety of factors:

• Opening up new markets
• Developing new products
• Improving quality, productivity and customer responsiveness
• Recruiting and developing expertise

Whatever the key to growth, KTP may be able to help unlock a company's potential. Finding out whether KTP is suitable for any particular company's needs is easy. Discussion with a KTP Consultant will enable the Consultant to evaluate whether the KTP route is suitable and, if necessary, to identify experts in the 'knowledge base' capable of providing the company with the appropriate help. Later on, if a KTP Associate - a graduate - is recruited to work in the company for two years on the project that has been identified as central to the company's needs.

The Mission of KTP:

To strengthen the competitiveness and wealth creation of the UK by the stimulation of innovation in industry through collaborative partnerships between the science, engineering and technology base and industry;

Objectives are:

• To facilitate the transfer of technology and the spread of technical and management skills, and to encourage industrial investment in training, research and development;
• To provide industry-based training, supervised jointly by personnel in the science, engineering and technology base and in business, for high calibre graduates intending to pursue careers in industry;
• To enhance the levels of research and training in the science, engineering and technology base that is relevant to business by stimulating collaborative research and development projects and forging lasting partnerships between the science, engineering and technology base and business.