The well-established knowledge transfer (KT) strengths of most reputable British universities are not always apparent to all industry sectors, despite the fact that they are major contributors to the country’s economy. KT has become core business for many universities, because it encourages and facilitates business/knowledge-based collaborations.
At its simplest, KT is about starting a conversation and, as with all good conversations, it represents a two-way process; a dialogue to enable learning from others as well as the sharing of ideas and experiences. Creating a dialogue between the academic community and businesses increases the business relevance of a university’s base research and teaching, while helping business organisations improve competitiveness and productivity through the use of the skills and knowledge resident within the academic community.
Within SCI’s network we recognise that economic growth will result from a knowledge-driven economy, fuelled by competitive businesses engaging in innovation and entrepreneurship.
Growing success – horticultural business perspectives, hosted by the Horticulture Group on Friday, 21 November 2008, projected the wide-ranging and on-going applied research undertaken through schemes such as Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) and other interactions. Such activity frequently builds upon primary research. It contextualises and applies this to help companies overcome issues of strategic importance that block or hinder their development.
Mike Hall, Horticulture Group
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