Experts at the University of Huddersfield are helping companies boost their businesses.
The university’s Energy Emission and the Environmental Research Group has attracted more than £1.5m in funding to run a series of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships ) to help manufacturers with their research and development projects.
And the university’s Centre for Precision Technologies has undertaken three Knowledge Transfer Partnerships with a Cheshire-based machine tool firm – and is now looking to cement relations into the future.
A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the university and Machine Tool Technologies Ltd (– strengthening a long-standing relationship that has already resulted in three partnerships between the university and the firm. A fourth proposal is in the pipeline.
MTT has called on the university’s scientific experts to carry out research into technical problems in the field of machine tool accuracy and performance. The firm is also a key partner in the university’s Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Advanced Metrology, which has seen them collaborate on ways to improve machine tool accuracy.
Dr Andrew Longstaff, principal enterprise fellow at the centre, said: “The relationship with MTT has been brilliant for us in terms of impact because they work with many blue chip companies in fields that range from Formula One to aerospace. This means that innovations and inventions by researchers at the university can gain industrial and commercial acceptance more quickly.”
Meanwhile, the Energy Emission and the Environmental Research Group is forging further links with local industry.
The group is headed by Prof Rakesh Mishra, an expert in fields such as thermodynamics, automotive power units and computational fluid dynamics who has been involved with KTPs for 10 years.
Since 2005, the group has undertaken nine partnerships with seven firms.
Two of the companies working with the group – Elland-based Weir Valves and Blackhall Valves at Brighouse – have either multiple KTPs or associates. Three projects were completed between 2005 and 2010 and six projects are ongoing.
Prof Mishra acts as academic supervisor for two current KTPs – with Holmfirth-based HR Blowers and Weir Valves – but has been the project manager for the entire roster of projects.
KTPs, which are part-funded by the Government, have an academic supervisor and a KTP associate, usually a highly-promising graduate or postgraduate student, who is based at the company seeking to develop new products or make major improvements to existing lines or processes.
Said Prof Mishra: “I see universities as an R&D centre for small-to-medium sized firms in the region. This is because they don’t usually have the resources to do their own research and development.
“I look at it in a very holistic way. Universities produce engineers; engineers go and work in industries; and when the output of industries increase, the nation’s productivity increases.”
