Last month we held the kick-off meeting of the Knowledge Exchange Best Practice Group (KE BPG). It was a positive and insightful meeting, with representatives from a variety of organisations operating in the higher education sector in attendance.
My take-home was that commercialisation and communication lead to more relevant academic research that improves lives and provides solutions to our global dilemmas.
Written by Daniel Judd. Edited by Alex Stockham. Originally published on the IN-PART website
When an R&D professional reviews an opportunity to collaborate with a university, the decision to pass or to learn more ultimately comes down to whether they have all the relevant information to hand. If a project summary doesn’t have the right information, the perfect company will often pass or lose interest.
Recently there have been multiple discussions about the relationships between multiple different acronyms. The latest 'kid on the block' is KEC - the Knowledge Exchange Concordat - which is published today. This has been developed by a group led by Professor Trevor McMillan, Vice-Chancellor of Keele University, supported by Universities UK and Research England and with contributions from several members of PraxisAuril.
Today Research England is publishing report summarising how universities are working to deliver the Government's Industrial Strategy. This focusses on use of the additional funds provided by Government for Research England to allocate for knowledge exchange through Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF).
About Mark Jefferies, Chief of University Research Liaison at Rolls-RoyceMark Jefferies is a chartered engineer and Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society with responsibility for the worldwide academic research partnerships for the Rolls-Royce group. This includes 31 University Technology Centres (UTCs), engaging hundreds of researchers and more than 500 PhD students.
About Ed Krause, Global Manager, External Alliances of Ford Motor CompanyEd Krause has been working in R&D for Ford for nearly 20 years. He has global responsibility for developing technology and competitive advantage for Ford via collaborative research and development project portfolios involving universities and partner companies.
About Dr Steven Harris, Head of External Partnerships and Brokering at BAE SystemsDr Harris has spent his career at BAE Systems (currently 30 years and counting), and there he began managing external partnerships in 2012. He is responsible for developing strategic relationships in academic and government institutions, as well as developing collaborative engagement with SMEs.
About Dr Damian Kelly, Head of Global Research & Development