Introduction to Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP's)

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships is Europe's leading programme helping businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of the knowledge, technology and skills that are available within the UK knowledge base.

A Partnership works by employing one or more high-calibre "Associates" (graduates), transferring the knowledge the company is seeking, into the business. Each Associate works in the company on a project,

 which is core to the strategic direction of the business. Through contact with the businesses, the knowledge base Partner (academic institution) gains relevant and improved understanding of the challenges companies encounter, which in turn stimulates business-relevant teaching material and new research themes.

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships is a UK-wide programme funded by 18 organisations and is headed by the Technology Strategy Board, a business-led, executive non-departmental public body.   

Each partnership is part-funded by the Technology Strategy Board and other sponsors, with the balance of the cost coming from the company partner.

The flexibility of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships  

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships is intentionally flexible in its delivery:

projects can vary in length between 12 and 36 months 
knowledge base partners include Further Education Institutions (teaching to at least the equivalent of NVQ Level 4) as well as Higher Education Institutions, Research and Technology Organisations and Public Sector Research Institutes
Associates can be post-doctoral researchers, university graduates, or individuals recently qualified to at least NVQ (Level 4) or equivalent

Benefits for the company partner

Business performance outputs vary considerably from case to case, given the rich variety of projects.

Latest information shows that, on average, the business benefits that can be expected from a single KTP project are:

an increase of over £227,000 in annual profits before tax 
creation of three genuine new jobs
an increase in the skills of existing staff
Put another way, for every £1 million of Government investment in Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, the benefits achieved by UK businesses amount to:

a £2.97 million increase in annual profits before tax
the creation of 43 genuine new jobs
190 company staff trained

Benefits for the knowledge base

Through Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, academics are able to:

develop business-relevant teaching materials 
identify new research themes and undergraduate and postgraduate projects
publish high-quality research papers
contribute to the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) and rating of their department

Benefits for the Associate

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships can help Associates enhance their career prospects by providing them with the opportunity to manage a challenging project central to a company's strategic development and long-term growth, as well as offering top-class training and development in business management and leadership skills

Over 78% of Associates are offered employment by their host company on completion of their project and overall 62% accept.
Anyone interested in finding out more about how they can become involved in KTP's should, in this area, contact Crawford Massie at the West of Scotland KTP Centre on 0141 548 2476 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Website is www.ktp.strath.ac.uk or the UK Website is www.ktponline.org.uk