One of the University of Salford's most successful ways of working with industry is through the Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) scheme. Funded by the Technology Strategy Board and Research Councils, KTPs have evolved into one of the leading initiatives for engaging academic experts with innovating businesses. Knowledge Transfer Partnerships are collaborations between academics, a company / organisation that needs their expertise and a graduate recruited to work on a project central to the needs of the business, and its development. When times are hard, employee development, consultancy and research couldn't be further from a Director's mind. The majority are preoccupied with cash flow and costs, but in a climate where only the strongest survive, other elements need to be considered. Productivity, for example, is often a measure of business efficiency that is overlooked. Yet more productive employees offer as much a protection against downturn as lower overheads. The University of Salford believes that a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) can help companies address this, and virtually every other aspect of their business A KTP essentially provides companies with the opportunity to overhaul an aspect of its business. Instead of investing in an individual employee, a KTP is designed to improve the company from within. The company and the university work together, providing a holistic solution to a problem. Projects can be undertaken in a wide range of areas including: product design, manufacturing, business processes (including IT and social sciences) Companies we have worked with have shown significant benefits including - increased turnover and profitability; - streamlining of their business processes; - development of new products, - improvements to their current products' quality, - productivity and customer satisfaction; and most importantly, - gained competitive advantage over their competitors.
