University’s knowledge transfer programmes with Morgan acknowledged as West Midlands’ ‘best’
The value of a decade of knowledge transfer programmes between Malvern-based Morgan Motor Company and Birmingham City University has been recognised as a regional winner for ‘Best Partnership’, in this year’s national Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Awards.
The team, responsible for a recently concluded third KTP-programme, were invited by the KTP Programme Office to participate in a presentation of their project at a special event organised at the London Marriott, Grosvenor Square, on 10th March 2010. The accolade of being the best in the North West (which incorporates the West Midlands region), has come through the success of the latest of three KTP programmes completed with the Morgan Motor Company, by the University’s Faculty of Technology, Engineering and the Environment (TEE), led by Dr Mike Daniels.
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) is a UK-wide programme enabling companies to improve their competitiveness, productivity and performance through a partnership with their local university. A KTP lasts between 10 weeks and 36 months and involves the forming of a partnership between a company and university.
The overall triple-KTP partnership between TEE and the UK’s legendary car manufacturer, now 100 years old, has already seen Morgan gain a Lord Stafford Award for Achievement in Innovation during 2007. The conclusion of their third Government-supported KTP saw the national panel recently award this programme its topmost ‘Outstanding’ grade, matching similar recognition given to their first KTP, concluded two years earlier. The second, longer KTP programme, which successfully increased the efficiency of Morgan’s manufacturing processes, had also been highly rated.
The result of the design-work of Matthew Humphries, TEE’s third KTP-associate, graduate, employed to transfer design-based technology into the company, included styling Morgan’s exclusive and highly-acclaimed AeroMax model. Matthew has since become the company’s Chief Designer and
subsequently designed Morgan’s
environmentally friendly
performance
LIFECar concept, unveiled at Geneva in Spring 2008.
Matthew Humphries comments: “The KTP provided an excellent foundation for my career in a hugely competitive industry. It has been particularly rewarding to work with Morgan to realise my designs in both concept and production vehicles.”
The launch of this unique sports car has now led to a fourth KTP which seeks to turn the concept into a road-going reality. This double graduate-associate KTP-programme is seeing Birmingham City University co-ordinate a multi-university* programme through collaboration with Oxford and Cranfield universities, to develop Morgan’s LIFECar over a three-year period.
Rebecca Garrod-Waters, Director of Innovation at
Advantage West Midlands
(AWM), said: “It’s fantastic news that the partnership between Morgan and Birmingham City University has received this regional award. Innovation is key to driving the West Midlands economy and Advantage West Midlands is supporting this by tripling the KTPs in the region.”
Birmingham City University is part of a consortium of all 12 of the West Midlands based Universities who are working in collaboration to increase the number of KTPs available in the region from 70 to 210 by 2013. The increase in KTPs is thanks to £24.3 million funding from Advantage West Midlands, the European Regional Development Fund and the Technology Strategy Board.
Birmingham City University’s long-term academic supervisor, Dr Mike Daniels, says: “We’re delighted our Morgan partnership has been identified as the West Midlands best among the many successful KTPs in this Region”.