News
Multi-million pound boost for Knowledge Transfer Partnerships announced!
Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster announced a multi-million pound funding package for the KTP programme in Northern Ireland this week. With Invest Northern Ireland funding of £7.2million over the next five years and additional input from the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) and other KTP Sponsors, total funding could amount to £13 million. The full press release regarding the announcement can be read here.
From L-R: Mary Flynn, Head of KTP and Business Networks, QUB; Iain Gray, Chief Executive, TSB; Scott Rutherford, Director of Research and Enterprise, QUB; Arlene Foster, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment; Debbie Buckley-Golder, Head of Knowledge Exchange, TSB.
The Wilson Review
The Wilson Review of Business-University collaborations has been published and encourages the expansion of the KTP programme to meet the needs of business.
The award-winning partnership between Queen's University Belfast and Cherry Pipes Ltd also features as a case study!
The full report can be accessed here.
It’s Official!
Cherry Pipes & QUB are the UK’s Best KTP Partnership 2011
Following a day of exhibition, demonstration, presentation and networking a KTP Partnership between Dungannon-based company, Cherry Pipes Ltd and Queen’s University Belfast has taken the top award of Best UK KTP Partnership 2011. Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and President of the Board of Trade made the announcement at the Innovate 2011 Conference on Tuesday 11th October in London. The project was judged on impact (on the individual company and the business sector as a whole), the level of innovation and the degree of academic challenge and benefit demonstrated.
As a result of their Partnership with the Polymer Processing Research Centre at Queen’s, the Cherry Polymer Group has become one of the top ten plastics recyclers in the UK. Their collaboration enabled the company to develop a new approach to pipe extrusion and improvements in the quality of their product resulted in BBA and BSI certification. Waste from the manufacturing process was reduced from 10% to 5% and an in-house design facility was established. The new R&D focus has led to Cherry Polymers becoming the lead partner in an FP7 European Programme.
The project with Cherry Pipes was carried out by KTP Associates Paul Beaney and Justyna Grabowska over the period September 2006 until January 2010 under the supervision of Gerry McNally, Raymond Murphy and Alan Clarke at Queen’s School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. The project was part-funded by Invest Northern Ireland and the Technology Strategy Board.
The Innovate 2011 Conference is hosted by the Technology Strategy Board and is the leading innovation networking, conference and exhibition event. It is the UK’s biggest networking event for product developers, engineers and strategists. To find out more about the Innovate 2011 event, visit here. The official QUB press release regarding the award can be accessed here.
