Knowledge Transfer Partnerships

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) is an established and successful UK-wide programme to help businesses to innovate and grow through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills that reside within UK’s world-class universities.

Part-funded by government, it’s a three-way partnership between a business seeking expertise to solve an innovative strategic problem, an academic institution (such as Queen Mary University of London) that helps develop an innovative solution, and an exceptional graduate – known as the KTP Associate – who transfers the new knowledge into the business. The partnerships vary in length between one and three years and is led by the KTP Associate who is employed by the University but works at the business.

Who can apply?

• A UK-based business including not-for-profit organisations of sufficient size to support the project (usually at least 5 employees)
• Have the financial capacity to fund the project costs and related commercialisation
• Typically, have been up and running for at least 2 years.

How is it funded?

A KTP is part-funded by a government grant. For small and medium-sized businesses the grant rate is 67% of the project cost and for large businesses 50%. The remainder of the project costs are paid by the business partner. The cost of a KTP to a business is less than recruiting a well-qualified graduate directly, plus the company will benefit from academic expertise, and state-of-the-art facilities.

What are the benefits of a KTP?

Business benefits:

• Access to highly qualified and motivated graduates
• Gain privileged and cost-effective access to academic expertise and university resources
• Drive competitive advantage through accelerated innovation and the possibility of creating Intellectual Property
• Increase revenue/profits through access to new markets, new product development, increased productivity, and better processes.

Academic benefits:

• Source of valuable research income
• On average three new research projects and two research papers are created for each KTP project
• Enhanced relationships with industry
• Contribute to Research Excellence Framework (REF) impact case studies.

Applications for KTPs enjoy a high chance of being successful, with around 90% of applications being accepted.

Why Queen Mary?

At Queen Mary, we work with businesses, public sector and voluntary organisations around the world to shape policy, drive innovation and create tangible impact. Winner of the Future

Innovator Award at KTP Best of the Best Awards 2020, Queen Mary is ranked fourth in the UK for commercialising research and has proven success in winning and managing KTPs.

Queen Mary has a dedicated KTP team who will manage the application process and support the project through to its conclusion.