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Knowledge Transfer Partnerships

Black and white, a group of people in front of a wall that has post-it notes and plans on it. Light blue dots connected by thin blue lines overlay part of the image.
Black and white, a group of people in front of a wall that has post-it notes and plans on it. Light blue dots connected by thin blue lines overlay part of the image.
Image courtesy of Fresh Britain and UAL Knowledge Transfer Partnerships case study | Design direction: Brand Creative and Strategy, UAL

A creative boost to help your business or organisation innovate and grow.

A Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) brings organisations and expert academics together to tackle innovation challenges and deliver economic and societal or environmental outcomes.

Get in touch

Select 'Access to more information on Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs)' in the form to see how we can collaborate.

What’s a KTP?

KTPs address a specific business challenge through the transfer of knowledge, technology, and expertise from an academic partner to a business or organisation.

A 3-way partnership is created between:

  • a business seeking new knowledge
  • a university with the necessary expertise
  • a qualified graduate, known as a KTP Associate.

There's a 5 step process:

  1. Your company eligibility is checked and ideas are scoped.
  2. Your company is matched with academic expertise and the project is fully scoped.
  3. There's a 2 stage application process supported by UAL and a Knowledge Transfer Adviser.
  4. Funding is successfully secured and a KTP Associate is recruited.
  5. The project starts.

KTPs can involve:

  • refining or designing products
  • opening new markets
  • improving business marketing or manufacturing systems
  • cutting costs and waste.

Who’s eligible?

You must have:

  • at least 5 members of staff
  • been running for at least 2 years
  • the infrastructure to support a KTP Associate to deliver the project
  • the ambition to grow by tackling challenges in new ways.

What do you get?

Projects last for 1 to 3 years.

A full-time KTP Associate will lead and deliver your strategic project. They’ll be based at your company and supervised by an academic team. You’ll also get expert project advice and support from the UAL team.

Part of the project costs are covered by a grant (the remainder is covered by the company partner):

  • SME’s - 67% of costs are covered by the grant.
  • Large companies – 50% of costs are covered by the grant.

Why choose a KTP with UAL?

We’re second in the world for art and design and our graduates influence learning, culture, industry and society on a global scale. A KTP offers multiple benefits to your organisation:

  • A highly qualified graduate (KTP Associate) to deliver your strategic innovation project. This can lead to increased revenue, improved profit margins and access to new markets.
  • A low risk and cost-effective way to access and embed new expertise, knowledge and facilities, helping to develop in-house capabilities.
  • Product or service development to improve your competitive advantage.
  • Creation of intellectual property through strategic innovation.
  • Project support from experienced colleagues from UAL and the KTP funder, InnovateUK Business Connect.

FreshBritain and UAL

Get in touch

Start the KTP conversation and see how we can collaborate - select 'Access to more information on Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs)' in the form.

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