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Awards scheme will encourage SMEs to work with universities 31 May 2011 Based on the strength of their research excellence in advanced materials, three UK universities have each been awarded EPSRC funds to create an awards scheme to support companies wishing to work with them for the first time. Working with the Materials KTN, Sheffield and Glasgow universities will fund the so-called SPARK awards from their Knowledge Transfer Account (KTA) while Bath University will fund its involvement in the scheme through Bath Ventures. Sean Smith of Bath Ventures said: ‘This new award scheme will allow SMEs in the south west to compete for funding to develop problem-solving proof-of-concept technology demonstrators and other development activities involving materials.’ University/SME collaboration Universities and research centres can help form so-called systems and networks of innovation. SMEs collaborate with systems of innovation on regional, national or even international levels, dependant on their knowledge and competence needs. SMEs that innovate through science-driven R&D (e.g. in biotech) tend to collaborate with partners across the world in search for new and unique knowledge.
How and when should I use IP? There are many simple and cost effective ways of protecting your ideas and your business. The information below shows you what you need to think about from the beginnings of an idea to starting a new business and marketing and manufacturing your product or service. New idea Knowledge Transfer Partnerships What would really make a difference to your organisation? A better product, an improved process, a new technology? A Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) is a tried-and-tested government programme which brings an ambitious graduate, supported by a university specialist, into your company to lead a project and make that difference. And a smaller organisation pays just one third of the cost! KTP Associate Charlie Symonds, who developed a sustainability strategy for Stannah Stairlifts
[MSC] Research for the benefit of SMEs: CORDIS Objective The aim is to strengthen the 'innovation capacity' of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Europe and their contribution to the development of new technology based products and markets. The programme will help them outsource research, increase their research efforts, extend their networks, better exploit research results and acquire technological know how, bridging the gap between research and innovation. Not sure if you are and SME? Take the SME test on the SME Techweb where you will also find a step-by-step guide for SMEs in all of FP7 Why Collaborate “Collaborate or die” An exaggeration? Or not? Many of today’s top companies view collaboration as central to their business operations, and as you will see in this module, business collaboration can be used very successfully to reduce costs, improve profit margins, reduce risk, gain market share, gain valuable new knowledge amongst other benefits. In this module we will outline the different collaboration options and opportunities. It will not be an exhaustive guide to all aspects of collaboration, but we will provide an overview of different business areas in which SMEs can work together for business benefit, such as; training, new product development, and improved customer service and market development.
Why use Intellectual Property? Intellectual property (IP) is any form of original creation that can be bought or sold - from music to machinery. The four main types of IP rights are patents, trade marks, designs and copyright but there are many other ways to protect your IP. How to use IP? Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) - What will it cost my business? A KTP is part-funded by a Government grant. A small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) would be expected to contribute about a third of the costs involved in the project. The average annual contribution to a project for an SME would be from around £20,000. This contributes to the costs of the Knowledge Base Supervisor and Associate employment and development.
Lambert Tool kit for Collaborative Research The Lambert toolkit is for universities and companies that wish to undertake collaborative research projects with each other. The toolkit consists of a set of five Model Research Collaboration (one to one) Agreements numbered 1-5 and four Consortium (multi-party) Agreements lettered A-D and documents that should help you to use and understand those agreements. The toolkit was prepared by the Lambert Working Group on Intellectual Property. Innovation and Compromise The aim of the model agreements is to maximise innovation. They have not been developed with the aim of maximising the commercial return to the universities; but to encourage university and industry collaboration and the sharing of knowledge.