1. Fast Track your Career

A Knowledge Transfer Partnership is an ideal launchpad into industry. A KTP enhances your career prospects by providing the opportunity to manage a challenging project which is central to the strategic development and long-term growth of the business. As a KTP Associate, you will lead a project with full support and supervisory input  from both the organisation and the Knowledge Base team. You will also be supported by an independent project officer, who is the Knowledge Transfer Advisor who monitors your project progress on behalf of Innovate UK. The KTP programme can also support membership of professional bodies and is a route to chartership.

2. Bridge the Gap between Business and Academia

Mainly funded by Invest NI and Innovate UK, each KTP is a three-way-partnership between a company, an academic team and a suitably qualified graduate. The programme is intended to bring new capabilities to an organisation in order to solve a problem that is unique to your company. It has been proven to work with companies in a wide range of sectors and sizes. KTP Associates deliver knowledge and expertise that is tailored to an individual company’s specific needs.

In general, the day-to-day place of work is at the KTP company, where the Associate will work to the company's hours of work and annual leave entitlement. Depending on the project stage and tasks involved, there may be periods of time where the Associate will need access to university facilities and equipment. On average, Associates will receive approximately half a day per week supervision and support from the academic team.

3. Take Ownership of a Project in Industry

As a KTP Associate, you'll 'own' your own project, while receiving support from the organisation and academic partner. Each KTP opportunity is unique, and could be anything from recipe development for a leading food business, to developing marketing campaigns to reach the socially disadvantaged or applying AI to environmental sustainability or health. The projects are diverse and the opportunities are huge. Associates bring about lasting, transformative change within the company, acting as both a project lead and a conduit for knowledge.

4. Manage your own substantial Training and Development Budget

In addition to the competitive salaries offered, KTP Associates on a standard two-year project will have access to over £8,000 for training and development. Associates are encouraged to spend approximately 10% of their time on training and development activities. Training requirements are agreed with academic and company supervisors to ensure that any skills gaps are addressed at an early stage. You can choose a variety of training modules to benefit your KTP: project management, marketing and communication, finance, leadership and/or personal development, as well as job-specific technical training.

The KTP Associate Development & Travel budget can also be accessed to attend conferences, courses, trade-shows and networking events that are relevant to your KTP, as well as covering membership of professional bodies. Each KTP Associate is also required to attend two one-week training residential modules to develop core people and project management skills that enable you to manage the KTP and get the most from the people and resources around you.

5. Apply your Academic Knowledge to a Real-Life Challenge that delivers Strategic or Tactical Change

Each KTP project is centred on a specific company project that is intended to bring new knowledge and expertise to a business, providing an excellent opportunity for graduates to directly apply their academic learning to solve real-world problems. This gives Associates a fulfilling employment opportunity, where academic knowledge transforms a key strategic innovation idea into reality. This is backed by support from the academic partner, who helps to identify a range of opportunities in which to embed new knowledge. The Associate works specifically on the task of bringing a new capability into the business and ensuring that it is fully embedded and works for everyone in the organisation.

 

You can find more information about KTP at Queen's here or contact us at ktp@qub.ac.uk and check out our Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram pages.

You can find all UK wide KTP roles here.