Dr. Adam Stoten, COO at Oxford University Innovation shares his motivation behind becoming RTTP accredited. In this short interview, Adam explains that RTTP status is a great way of giving confidence to those whom KEC professionals work with and gives a personal account of how those with RTTP status feel, when their achievements are recognised beyond their own organisation.
I know you’ve attended many PraxisAuril courses and events, including our conferences, since 2005. It’s clear that you place a real focus on your own professional development. How do you feel our courses set you up with the skills for your role within Oxford University Innovation?
PraxisAuril courses are fantastic for blending theory with practical examples to enable knowledge transfer practitioners to develop their skills and experience. I attended the Advanced Licensing course (now called Practical Licensing) well over a decade ago and benefited not only from the content but from spending time amongst peers from other institutions, each of whom had different - but relevant - perspectives and experiences. The nature of the courses encourages this sharing of knowledge and reflects the supportive nature that permeates PraxisAuril in general – this is as valuable to me now as it was when I first started.
I see you hold the RTTP accreditation, what made you think to apply for this?
Knowledge transfer is now firmly established as critically important discipline for academic institutions and for industry, and the whole KE sector has developed hugely in terms of its coherence and professionalism. Large numbers of people are now pursuing long term careers in KE, reflecting the rich experiences and opportunities it offers. It is also clear that government is becoming increasingly aware of the importance of KE in terms of achieving its goals for increasing national productivity and ensuring that we realise fully the potential of the UK’s incredible research outputs. RTTP status is a great way of giving confidence to those with whom we work – government, industry, charities, investors - that our staff embody the experience and competence to achieve these goals. It is also rewarding for those who receive RTTP status to feel that their achievements are recognised beyond their own organisation.
Thank you. Do you think having it has made a difference in your day-to-day role?
I only received it in the last few months so probably a bit early to say! However, our plans to have all qualifying staff at Oxford University Innovation apply for RTTP status have met with very positive feedback.
I think there’s more that PraxisAuril can do to promote this global accreditation, I'm keen to promote ALL RTTP’s on our website, whether they are from the UK, Japan, Australia…learning more about the achievements this global group of professionals have made could be inspiring – what are your thoughts on this?
I agree there is an opportunity to embrace more wholeheartedly RTTP status and what it represents. It is unique in being a common standard that unites KE practitioners worldwide and using this to help share experiences from outside the UK could be very valuable.
There has been a recent launch of the new ‘Candidate RTTP Pathway’ which enables entrants to the profession to signal that they are committed to a pathway of training and development and are working towards earning the award of full RTTP status. This demonstrates that they are serious about their career and aspire to meet the very highest standards. I think that this is a great step forward as candidates can work with their managers on gaining the right experiences and skills by developing a career aspiration plan. Is this something you would encourage within your team?
It certainly makes RTTP more inclusive and accessible to even recent entrants into the profession. We take career development very seriously at OUI so will certainly look at how this might integrate with what we do already. My first priority is to get all those staff who should be eligible for full RTTP status to achieve this standard, so that will keep us busy for the next 12 months or so.
What is RTTP ?
RTTP is an accreditation for Knowledge Exchange/Technology Transfer professionals. The RTTP designation demonstrates to employers and stakeholders that KE practitioners are working to a set of international standards, defined and peer-reviewed by sector experts from around the world. It is recognised that:
- you work effectively and creatively to add significant value leading to business outcomes
- you have demonstrated competence, integrity, vision, versatility and perseverance
- you have undertaken relevant training courses and/or gained qualifications that enable you to perform well and helped you to build a rich network.
Find out more
What are RTTP points?
As part of becoming RTTP accredited, professionals must demonstrate undertaking relevant training courses and/or gained qualifications. All our out training courses are officially recognised by ATTP and count towards your accreditation. If you are new to the KE profession, an excellent way to start your journey is to join the Candidate RTTP pathway scheme. Candidate RTTP is a new designation offered by ATTP that allows entrants to the Knowledge Exchange profession to signal that they have committed to a pathway of training and development and that they are working towards the award of full RTTP status.
Find out more