Transform businesses through a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP)

Turn your knowledge and ideas into solutions with a funded collaboration that brings about real change within a business or charity.

Through the Knowledge Transfer Partnership programme, UCL academics can work with a UK-based business or charitable organisation on a complex strategic project.

What is a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP)?

A KTP provides the funding and support for you, as a UCL academic, to join forces with an organisation and a high-calibre associate to solve a significant business challenge. Together you’ll work for one to three years on developing a new product, process, service or efficiency saving.

Examples of our recent KTPs

• IOE, UCL's faculty of education and society, is collaborating with Numbermix on the design of a digital education platform for teachers and schoolchildren. 
• UCL Physics & Astronomy and UCL Chemical Engineering are using advanced chemistry simulation techniques to set up a Digital Lab for BP and solve the challenges of oil and gas production. 

How the partnership benefits you

By sharing your expertise with the business or charity, you’ll be able to:

• apply knowledge and expertise to important commercial challenges
• publish your findings
• initiate new student projects 
• develop business-relevant teaching materials
• extend the partnership into new areas
• identify new research themes
• contribute to the Research Excellence Framework (REF) exercise
• develop strategic relationships with regional and national organisations

The company partner benefits too, with a significant increase in annual profits. And associates are often offered a job at the end of the project.

How a KTP works

• The business has an idea about how your existing research could help increase their profits or efficiencies. 
• You and an academic colleague will jointly commit half a day a week to overseeing the introduction of these new ideas.
• UCL employs an associate, usually at master's level or above, who’s based full-time at the business. They will lead the project and make sure its innovations take root. 

What funding is available

KTPs typically cost around £100,000 to £120,000 a year.

Innovate UK, the government funding body, will cover a substantial part of these costs: 

• 67% funding for an SME 
• 50% funding for a larger company

The business will then need to pay the remaining percentage.

Process and timings

Funding rounds take place throughout the year, roughly every two to three months.

It can take at least nine months to get all the pieces of a KTP in place. That includes applying for the funds, creating a detailed workplan and recruiting an associate.

You’ll be supported at every stage by our KTP Manager and a Knowledge Transfer Advisor from Innovate UK.

Next steps

To find out more, discuss a potential project and start your application, email ktp@ucl.ac.uk or call us on 020 3108 6210.

You can also find out more about the benefits of KTPs to academics on the KTP website.