Knowledge Transfer Secondment (KTS)
What is the KTS and Why is it Being Introduced?
The KTS is a knowledge transfer scheme that takes outputs from research undertaken at Durham University, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), and commercialises them through secondment of staff.
It operates on the principle that the best way to transfer knowledge is to transfer people. Based on the Research Assistants Industrial Secondments (RAIS) scheme previously available from EPSRC, it allows movement of skilled people both into and out of Durham University.
KTS funding will be used to support secondments of staff previously employed on an EPSRC grant or grants, to enable them to take their results further on towards application by users. KTS funds may also be used for inward secondments, supporting a specific research project carried out in the HEI by someone employed by a user organisation. In all cases there will be a strong connection between the secondment activities and one or more EPSRC-funded research projects.
Objectives
1) To ensure the exploitation of the research funded by EPSRC at Durham University
2) To broaden and enhance the skills of the researchers funded by EPSRC at Durham University
3) To make knowledge exchange between Durham University and potential users of the research that it carries out easy, efficient and hence attractive.
How Does the KTS Work?
A KTS secondment can involve any company or organisation which might benefit from the results of the research. As well as the obvious approach of involving an existing collaborator on an EPSRC grant, it might involve a start-up company developed as a result of the original project or a company which has subsequently expressed an interest in taking forward its research outputs.
The KTS works in one of two ways.
Outward Secondments
The Technology Transfer Offices of the Universities seek disclosures by academic staff of intellectual property (IP) which may be appropriate for commercial or social exploitation. Projects will be constructed to translate the results into external companies by secondment of early-career university staff to those companies. These staff will be scientists, engineers or mathematicians who have been working on the EPSRC programmes that generated the IP.
Inward Secondments
We seek company partners who have specific, market-driven, requirements that could be met through development of work that has been performed within the Universities. The Technology Transfer Offices will help to identify potential intellectual property and broker relationships between industrial partners and academic staff. Company staff will be seconded into the universities for a period, the KTS supporting costs of consumables.(KTS funds cannot be used to purchase major items of equipment or to pay the secondee's salary.)
What Sort of Project can be Supported?
The scheme is extremely flexible. A Business Development Manager in the Technology Transfer Office will advise you on eligibility.
Which Areas Does the KTS Cover?
The scheme is restricted to physical science and engineering projects that have been funded by EPSRC. Commercialisation of science and engineering IP into the healthcare sector is excluded as this is covered by a similar Knowledge Transfer Account (KTA) held by the universities. If your requirement is in the healthcare sector, contact the Head of Technology Transfer for information on the KTA.
When Does the KTS Start?
The scheme started on 1st October 2009 and ends on 30th September 2012.
How Do I Apply?
If you have a product need that might benefit from the scheme, contact Annisa Crich, KTP (annisa.crich@durham.ac.uk or Tel: 0191 334 3175)