Tag Archives: graduate

Q&A with KTP Associate: Joe Morecroft

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Name: Joe Morecroft

Role: KTP Associate for Extech Cloud

Project details: 2 year project which aimed to develop and implement a transformative and disruptive business innovation strategy. New knowledge was brought into the company from academics from the University of Brighton Business School, via the KTP Associate, Joe.

 

Why do you think KTPs are important?

It’s beneficial for all three parties – the university, the company and the Associate. The company has access to knowledge from top-tier academics, the university gets access to industry and real challenges, and the Associate benefits from both. Everyone mutually benefits.

How did you find out about the KTP scheme and the job opportunity?

Luck! I was speaking with a family friend, who just so happened to be working with KTPs as one of the academics. She was giving me career advice, and after a while the KTP came up in conversation. It interested me, so I applied and luckily, I was hired!

How did the KTP offer you something different?

The benefit of the KTP is that you have the backing of the University and academics. They help you with evidence-based knowledge, rather than ‘best practice’ myths. It allows you to then apply tools and models in industry and see real outcomes.

How did you use your personal development budget?

I used it for training, notably with a course called Aware Competitive Intelligence and a mini-MBA in Marketing. Both were excellent. The personal development budget was one of the best things about the KTP.

What was the most enjoyable aspect of being an Associate?

The conversations with the academics and learning from them. Spending a few hours each week with both my mentors was hugely beneficial to me and my career. To work with the academics was one of those opportunities that are rarely comes along in life, and I was fortunate enough to have that for two years.

What are you hoping to do next in your career?

Take what I learned from the KTP, improve it and use the experience to continue developing my career.

How would you describe your KTP experience, in three words?

Paul Levy’s biscuits. We could always depend on our lead academic to always bring biscuits to meetings and quarterly reviews to get the discussion going!

Why would you recommend KTP to other graduates?

There are several benefits that come with being a KTP Associate: mentors, personal development budget, university access etc. Use the time wisely to develop yourself and make the most of the benefits that come with being a KTP Associate.

 

Find out more about being a KTP Associate on the graduate page of our website, or see the business pages for more information on the scheme.

What is a KTP Associate?

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A KTP Associate is the graduate who is leading a KTP project. KTP is short for Knowledge Transfer Partnership, which is a scheme that has been running throughout the UK for over 40 years.

The scheme matches up businesses who have a need to innovate, develop and grow, with a university who has the expertise to help them do so. Once the project team is formed, the university recruits a graduate to deliver the project, under the supervision of the company and the academic team.

On top of an annual salary, Associates also get a dedicated training budget of £2,000 per annum. You’ll have responsibility from day one and the potential to gain a permanent job with an innovative company (approximately 78 per cent of graduates are offered employment at the end of a KTP).

Every year, Associates are also invited to the annual KTP Associates Conference. Carlotta Giussani, KTP Associate for a KTP project with the Sourcepark in Hastings told us:

“The KTP Associates Conference in Birmingham was absolutely great experience. It was great opportunity to network with the other Associates and to hear more about other KTP Associates projects and experiences.”

Find all current job opportunities on the national KTP website here: https://info.ktponline.org.uk/action/search/partnership_vac.aspx

 

 

Launching my graduate career with KTP: Adam Masters

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Adam Masters

I applied for the role of Eco-Retrofit Manager (KTP Associate) as part of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership between The University of Brighton and the Guinness Partnership. It seemed to be the perfect opportunity to gain first hand experience in industry whilst maintaining support from an academic institution and gaining further qualifications. It did not disappoint! In the two year of my KTP I have attained a Master of Science degree, a Certificate in Management and passed a qualification to become a member of the Association of Project Managers to name just a few, all whilst being paid a full time wage.

It certainly wasn’t easy to fit in all of that work and additional qualifications, there were a lot of long days and nights juggling study and work; however I am sure that the opportunities that were presented to me during my two year KTP would not have been available in any other type of job. It feels like I have been given a head start to my career, having the experience and qualifications of somebody who has been working in industry for at least 5 years. My role within the Guinness Partnership was to run a two year pilot project to improve the energy efficiency of six of the organisation’s offices and develop a plan to rollout energy reduction across the remaining offices. Working closely with my company supervisor, Victoria Moore Head of Sustainability and Lead Academic Dr Jon Gates an expert in energy reduction we evaluated the current energy performance of the offices and selected six offices to improve that would provide the greatest learning. By retrofitting these six offices and implementing behaviour change initiatives we were able to make circa £50,000 annual savings and develop a strategy for the rollout of retrofit across the remaining office stock. I now feel as though I am an expert in my field, being invited to talk at national exhibitions and conferences to share my experience.

It is extremely satisfying to see a project such as this through to completion and to witness the benefits of your hard work. Upon completion of my KTP, The Guinness Partnership created a new permanent role which I successfully applied for meaning another smooth transition from one role to another role with additional responsibilities and the opportunity for further personal development. However, regardless of whether the company partner is able to employ the Associate at the end of their contract, I believe that the experience and qualifications that a KTP Associate would hold would make them an extremely strong candidate for any job within their field.

Adam Masters, Sustainability Manager, The Guinness Partnership

 

 

My KTP experience – Sally Darbyshire

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PROJECT

I was a KTP Associate between 2010 and 2012 with the University of Brighton and Mooncup Ltd.  The project involved developing a new product for Mooncup and a new product development process to allow them to continue to methodically develop products, marketing campaigns and packaging after I had finished the 27 month project. As a product design engineering graduate, this job was an excellent opportunity to use my new qualification and skills in a real project within both industry and a university setting.

My project in particular included a wide multi-disciplinary team at the university because of the complexities of researching and designing the product. Mooncup, who sell an environmentally friendly alternative to disposable tampons and sanitary towels, wanted to expand their product range in order to appeal to slightly different market. The several elements involved in designing this product meant the project required a team of academics to reflect the potential areas this product could develop into, this included Textiles, Marketing, Science and Design. Between the university who could provide expertise in all of these areas, and Mooncup’s knowledge of the market and their customers, we had lots of useful and valuable information to help me deliver the project.

CHALLENGES

I uncovered a wealth of information in working with so many academics, however it also meant that time was often limited and though the meetings were very insightful, it was often hard to break down the information which would help me develop real solutions. Occasionally because of this, focus on the product and the timescale of the project became unaligned and I needed to re-focus my work. I overcame this challenge by using a project time line which helped me to see what needed to be achieved in the short and long term, broken down into manageable tasks. This challenge also helped me develop as a project manager; I began to assess more carefully when I needed information and advice from certain academics rather than communicating with them on a regular basis.

The other learning curve for me was discovering the complexities in producing a textiles product in the UK using sustainable and environmentally friendly materials. As the textiles industry in the UK has declined over the last few decades, there were a limited number of manufacturers who were able to help develop the product for larger scale manufacture. As the materials also proved difficult to source locally, which was an important aspect for Mooncup, I adapted my approach in order to find materials as close to home as possible.

BENEFITS OF KTP

The benefits of working on a KTP project for the product meant the outcome was well rounded and all options had been considered – in using the experience, insight and knowledge of the university academics and the company’s employees, the whole project was much richer than it would have been if I had been an individual working alone.

Another benefit to working on a KTP project for me was having a very generous personal development budget on top of my salary. This was hugely important for me as it gave me the opportunity to undertake training in areas I had little or no experience in.

EXPERIENCE

As a first job after graduating, I found the support from both the university and the company extremely encouraging throughout the project. Managing a 27-month project for the first time was quite a daunting task but having not only support from the project team but support also from the KTP team and advisors gave me the confidence to run the project successfully. Having regular project meetings helped me structure the product development process to ensure I was meeting deadlines.

I’m working on a few ventures at the moment; developing the family farm business and also setting up various ‘food swap’ events in Scotland. Working through the challenges and successes of the KTP project, I have gained experience which has set me up for future employment and I hope that one day soon I will be running my own business!

Sally Darbyshire, Mooncup KTP Project