Companies can find out how easy it is to collaborate with the University of Essex and benefit from building a partnership with its staff at a special event being held at the Colchester Campus on Thursday 27 May.

The Business Link sponsored event will see Colchester based firm AJ Energy Consultants and A Recipe for Success from Ipswich speak about how they have been able to link up with the University through Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs).

KTPs are part of a UK-wide programme, backed by the Government, which encourages the development of dynamic relationships between businesses, highly skilled graduates and university departments.

The University’s Deputy Director of Enterprise Professor David Crawford said: ‘This is an excellent opportunity for businesses and other organisations to find out about the real benefits delivered by a KTP by hearing directly from businesses themselves.

‘Companies can significantly improve their competitiveness and productivity through a KTP because it lets them access expert knowledge, cutting edge technology and high value skills.

‘Whether you are looking to develop your product, your organisational processes or understand and communicate with your market more fully, a partnership will help you.’

Shorter KTPs last between 10 and 40 weeks and are suitable for tactical or smaller strategic projects. Full KTPs last between one and three years. They are suitable for strategically important projects.

During a KTP the graduate is based at the company and is jointly supervised by the company and a university academic.

AJ Energy Consultants Director John Simpson said: ‘A lot of our work involves going into buildings and showing people how they can save energy and as a result money.

‘We want to create a piece of software which makes it quicker and easier for people to understand the measures they can take and see them in a graphical way.

‘It is a project we have wanted to do for a long time, but as a small company we would not have been able to do this without the help of the University.’

Those attending will also hear from KTP Manager Jenny Young and have the chance to visit the University’s new High Performance Networked Media Laboratory to see how Essex scientists are leading the research into new digital media. Staff from the Department of Mathematical Sciences will also be on hand to show visitors how games and puzzles like Sudoku have a connection with their work.

Places are limited, to register please contact Linette Edonya, e-mail: ledonya@essex.ac.uk by Friday 21 May 2010.

Event Details:
Date: Thursday 27 May 2010
Venue: Seminar Room 1N1.4.1, Square 1, University of Essex Colchester Campus
Time: 4pm to 6.30pm

Programme -

4pm - Delegate Registration
4.30pm - Professor David Crawford to introduce and welcome the event
4.35pm - Jenny Young, Knowledge Transfer Partnership Manager - Presentation
4.45pm - John Simpson, AJ Energy – Presentation on having a short KTP with the University
4.55pm - Jeff Hume, A Recipe for Success – Presentation on having a full KTP with the University
5.05pm - Questions and Answers
5.10pm - Tour and demonstrations of New Digital Media Lab, Dimitra Simeonidou
5.30pm - Demonstrations in Mathematical Sciences
6pm - Drinks and Refreshments
6.30pm - Close

For more information about KTP schemes at the University of Essex click here