Knowledge Transfer Partnerships
What are Knowledge Transfer Partnerships?
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) consist of a unique three-way collaboration between a business, a university and a graduate (known as the associate). The KTP scheme is a UK-wide programme helping businesses to improve competitiveness and productivity.
There are two types of KTP:
- Classic KTPs focus on expanding the capabilities of a business’s products and services, often using cutting edge technologies. They allow you to embed expertise and generate new knowledge.
- Management KTPs are people-focused, designed to foster culture change, enable transformational improvements - applying a broad range of management practices and processes to create robust businesses.
A KTP is a cost-effective way to access academic expertise and recruit a highly skilled graduate.
What you can expect
- A project length of between one and three years
- Up to 67% funded and 33% company contribution
- Weekly access to academic expertise
- Graduate placed within your business to fully embed knowledge
About the KTP team
Watch this one minute video to find out how we bring together academics, graduates, and businesses on strategic projects.
Supporting your project
Our KTP team brings together academics, graduates, and businesses on strategic projects. They are there to provide expert and professional support for submitting the project. They will support your project through application right through to the end of the project. This includes the recruitment, financial administration and support at the project quarterly management meetings which takes place between all the partners of the project.
From the initial first contact, we are there to provide support and guidance including the formation of the project team, where we will find suitable partners, support the work plan, and the writing and submission of the KTP application.
We have a strong track record where we have supported over 100 projects in 24 years. Our experienced Knowledge Exchange team will support throughout the process of the submission of the project.
Benefits
Benefits for businesses
- Embedding expertise, develop new knowledge
- Creating Intellectual Property
- Gaining cost-effective access to the University's knowledge base and resources
- Increasing revenue through access to new markets and new product development
- Improving profits, increased productivity
- Improving processes to the business
- Access to an experienced Knowledge Transfer Adviser and access to the Knowledge Transfer Network throughout the project
Benefits for academics
- Solving real-world business problems
- Influencing development within the UK industry
- Developing impact case studies
- Developing publications and conference papers
- Implementing research in a business setting
Benefits for associates
- Earning a competitive salary
- Applying developing knowledge and skills
- Securing employment
- Annual training and development budget
- Being supported through an academic supervisor and the company supervisor
"There has always been this disparity between academics and the business world as they both have unique ways of doing things so having the opportunity to bridge that gap in a partnership is a wonderful opportunity only KTP can give. The business world is now coming to terms with growth and development academics offer and if properly harnessed, businesses can see the benefits in their annual turnovers."
Mayowa Olanrewaju a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Associate for Harris Evolution Ltd acknowledges the benefits of a KTP.
Our case studies
Take a look at our Research, Business and Innovation (RBI) blog to find out more about our case studies.
Research, Business and Innovation (RBI) blog
Keep up-to-date with all our innovative research via our blog.
-
Dr Wenhao Zhang, Associate Professor of Computer Vision and Machine Learning and Co-Director of the Centre for Machine Vision (CMV), is leading on an new pilot project with Alzheimer’s charity BRACE to investigate the link between eye movements and cognitive decline in atypical ageing. People with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a condition linked with an … Continue reading "UWE Bristol academic works with Alzheimer’s charity to detect early stage Alzheimer’s"
UWE Bristol academic works with Alzheimer’s charity to detect early stage Alzheimer’s
-
Dr Francesco Tava, Associate Professor of Philosophy, has recently been appointed to the STRONG-AYA Ethics and Regulatory Advisory Board. STRONG-AYA is a new, interdisciplinary, multi-stakeholder European network to improve healthcare services, research and outcomes for adolescents and young Adults (AYA) with cancer, defined as individuals aged 15-39 years at cancer diagnosis, funded by the European … Continue reading "UWE Bristol academic appointed to STRONG-AYA Ethics and Regulatory Advisory Board"
UWE Bristol academic appointed to STRONG-AYA Ethics and Regulatory Advisory Board
-
Guest blog post by Dr Anna Piasecki, Director of Research and Enterprise (School of Social Sciences) On 16th November 2023, the UWE Bristol Brain, Language, and Behaviour (BLB) lab team held a cross-disciplinary study day with its clinical collaborators at Southmead Hospital. A meeting of minds covering neurosurgery, speech and language therapy (SLT), palliative care, … Continue reading "Brain, Language, and Behaviour lab study day at Southmead"
Brain, Language, and Behaviour lab study day at Southmead
-
External Research Funding: Support Resources Colleagues in Research, Business and Innovation (RBI) have developed a comprehensive collection of self-serve support resources to help researchers, at any career stage, understand the process of applying for external funding, and the support available to them. Developing Your Bidding Skills Resources to support bidding activities include: Self Service Resources … Continue reading "External Research Funding: Support Resources"
External Research Funding: Support Resources
-
Ecocide in Scotland At present, only 13 countries in the world currently recognize ecocide – mass damage and destruction of the natural environment – as a distinct crime under domestic law. Following the introduction of a Member’s Bill by Monica Lennon (Scottish Labour MSP for Central Scotland), Scotland may soon be the first UK nation … Continue reading "UWE Bristol researcher invited to attend launch of public consultation on ecocide law in Scotland"
UWE Bristol researcher invited to attend launch of public consultation on ecocide law in Scotland
-
Research undertaken by UWE Bristol and Imperial College London on “A meta-model of socio-hydrological phenomena for sustainable water management” has been selected for publication in the Nature Sustainability journal. The research was led by Dr Ana Mijic, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London with help from colleagues at Imperial and Dr Kwok … Continue reading "New research looking at sustainable water management accepted to prestigious nature journal"
New research looking at sustainable water management accepted to prestigious nature journal
-
Two UWE Bristol alumni have developed a prototype folding electric motorcycle that will be unveiled at Motorcycle Live 2023. The vulpin VF1 is the first vehicle designed by vulpin, set up by UWE Bristol product design alumni Ethan Wilkin and Matt Page, intended to be mass produced. It is a folding electric motorcycle which can … Continue reading "UWE Bristol alumni develop folding electric motorcycle"
UWE Bristol alumni develop folding electric motorcycle
-
Dr Cody Porter , UWE Bristol, and Forensic Psychologist Daniel Lawrence, Priory Healthcare, are working together to examine employability barriers for individuals with diagnosed mental health conditions. This research is part of an ongoing project aiming to improve employment opportunities for this group of people. The focus of their current research is to gain … Continue reading "Mental Health and Employment Barriers across the UK: new research"
Mental Health and Employment Barriers across the UK: new research
Get in touch
If your business has a strategy for growth, we can help make your ambitions a reality. Contact our Knowledge Transfer Partnerships Team at KTP@uwe.ac.uk to find out more.
Sign up to our mailing list
To stay up-to-date with the latest news, sign up to our mailing list to receive the UWE Bristol Business e-newsletter.
You may also be interested in

Graduate recruitment
UWE Bristol graduates really work for business. Employers tell us they’re more industry-ready than others they’ve welcomed into the workplace.

Employing graduate and student interns
UWE Bristol graduate and student interns can offer your business a great deal, with subsidised student or graduate talent, ready to meet to your individual business requirements.

Employing placement students
Discover how much UWE Bristol placement students can offer, from sandwich year placements to shorter project-specific skill-boosts.

Collaborative research
Find out how you can work with us on research to drive your business forward.