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University Services

Universities don't 'just' do training:

1. Student/Graduate Placement
2. Academic Consultancy
3. Collaborative Researc
4. Use of facilities
5. Customised Training
6. A combination of any or all of the above

Student/Graduate Placement

An employer can benefit greatly from taking on a graduate as an employee or an intern, or a student on a placement.  A new person coming into an organisation can often make a big difference just because they look at things differently, and can bring a fresh approach to an old problem.  These are very varied – and can last from 2 months to 2 years.  Some of these attract a limited amount of subsidy, and some can include the support of an academic from a university.

Academic Consultancy

Universities house academics from a wide range of disciplines.  Many academics are keen to keep their knowledge of a particular sector up-to-date, and are sometimes willing and able to help companies and other organisations solve problems or take forward opportunities where academic expertise is needed.  In a small number of cases government subsidies are available.

Collaborative Research

There may be an issue to be resolved where you would need extra resource, extra facilities and additional expertise to what is available within your organisation.  Working with a university you can pool resources and share the burden – delegating some of the necessary work to a university partner.  End results will be shared, by mutual agreement with both parties.

Use of facilities

Universities have a wide range of facilities available – many of which are not used for significant periods over the year.  These facilities include the full range of conference facilities – lecture theatres, seminar rooms, catering options and overnight accommodation.  In addition some more specialised highly technical testing facilities can be made available, ranging from a specially designed environmental testing chamber – a climate controlled room; a digital laboratory; and a wide range of products and materials testing equipment.

Customised Training

Obviously every university has a wide range of courses on offer at undergraduate and postgraduate level.  In addition to this, we are very willing to talk to employers about developing a package of learning which is tailor-made to suit the employer’s needs.  This package can be delivered in-house or in the university, on-line or project –based to suit your needs.

A combination of any or all of the above

None of the above are necessarily stand-alone activities. Consider the following example:

A company needs a graduate to help them develop a new product – for example, a new form of house front door which can be locked and unlocked by a person’s thumbprint.

The student works on this for a year, and is mentored by a university academic specialising in biomechanics.  A range of prototypes are developed which are tested in a university environmental testing laboratory to ensure that they are able to work effectively in low and high temperatures and periods of high humidity etc.  At the same time, research is carried out to ascertain if there are any similar products in development internationally, to ensure the market viability of the product. The final product requires a new manufacturing technique which the company’s staff acquire through a specifically designed training package, delivered onsite.

In this example the typical costs, time taken to develop the new product and market can all be reduced through working closely with a University partner.