Innovate UK’s East Midlands Knowledge Exchange Forum hosted on BGU campus!

On Thursday 12^th December, colleagues from our Lincolnshire Open Research and Innovation Centre (LORIC), hosted the East Midlands Knowledge Exchange Forum for the first time – since being part of Innovate UK’s Knowledge Transfer Partnerships
scheme.

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Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) are purposed to drive innovation and growth by creating collaborations between businesses and academic institutions.

There are around 100 knowledge bases, such as universities, across the UK, which help to deliver Innovate UK funding via the KTP programme.

BGU are currently working on a KTP with Liverpool Cathedral to help to evaluate the social value of the cathedral within its community and beyond. Alongside this, we have recently completed a 2-year partnership with the Lincolnshire Community and Voluntary Service (CVS), which was successful in embedding capabilities around marketing, strategy, and informed decision making.

In particular, the East Midlands Knowledge Exchange forum works to bring together KTP practitioners from universities across the geographical area, alongside Innovate UK Business Connect Advisers.

These universities include Loughborough University, University of Nottingham, University of Derby, University of Leicester, University of Northampton, Nottingham Trent University, University of Lincoln and De Montfort University.

Representatives from BGU have previously only attended forums hosted at other universities, most recently at the University of Derby, making this forum the first hosted on our campus!

The agenda of December’s forum focused on intellectual property in KTPs, accelerated knowledge transfer projects and discussing celebratory plans for KTP’s 50^th anniversary, due to take place in 2025 – this includes a compilation of regional case studies and a planned joint event with the University of Lincoln.

Kay Purle, Project Manager for LORIC and KTPs, said: “The KTP team at BGU are delighted to have hosted our first Innovate UK East Midlands Knowledge Exchange Forum, which saw representatives from several regional universities visit the BGU campus, many of which were visiting for the first time.

“As relative newcomers, this event helped to establish us as an active member of the group. We look forward to continuing to be involved and working to further establish KTPs within the university as a way of building our relationships amongst the local community and beyond.

“We would like to give thanks to all universities represented in the group for attending.”

Our KTP team is now looking forward to hosting formal visits from the Innovate UK Business Connect Knowledge Transfer Advisor for Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire on 15^th January, alongside the new Innovate UK Regional Manager on 20^th January.

These visits will then be followed up with a staff development session in February around Knowledge Transfer Partnerships in the social sciences, humanities, and arts (SHAPE), and with Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) organisations.

To find out more about how a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with BGU can support businesses or VCFSE organisations to grow and innovate, please contact ktp@bishopg.ac.uk.

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