Knowledge transfer partnership: A successful academic-industry relationship in UK with a focus on SMEs

In the knowledge driven economy, universities have a vital role to play in our ability to compete successfully as a nation. In addition to supplying graduates with up-to-date skills, as well as the right kind of skills, they must participate in activities that transfer their knowledge to businesses. Universities are powerful drivers of technological change. To quote from the 1998 Competitiveness White Paper: ldquothe most dynamic economies have strong universities, which have creative partnerships with businessrdquo. This paper will evaluate this subject based on the experiences accrued by the author who has been participating in one of these programmes for the last fifteen months. The paper will open with a brief background into the 30 years history of this programme, the reasons for its focus on small and medium sized enterprises (SME) and the importance of the SME to the UK economy. It will then evaluate the roles and contributions of each member of the partnership and well as the role of the government and its framework to support the programme. The paper will thereafter conclude with highlighting the benefits accrued to each partner as a win-win-win situation.