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KTP projects last between 12 months and three years with approximately 70% of Associates offered employment by the host business at the end of the project.

Projects can be in any sector and for businesses of all sizes. You will be jointly recruited by the business and the Knowledge Base (usually a university) who will be your employer.  

Based for most of your time within the business  team. you will also have an academic supervisor to support you, plus the specialist input of a Knowledge Transfer Adviser from Innovate UK Business Connect who will be on hand throughout the project to provide mentoring and coaching.

KTPs offer extensive opportunities for high calibre graduates and post-grads, as you provide the link between an expert academic team and a dynamic company. This ‘bridge’ gives you unique and exceptional access to both worlds.

As a KTP Associate, you’ll act as a project lead and can expect to benefit from:

• A fulfilling employment opportunity where you can apply your knowledge to turn a key strategic innovation idea in to reality
• The chance to manage a challenging, real-world project
• An opportunity to tailor-make your role, as each KTP Associate position is unique
• The chance to implement strategic development within an innovative company
• Dedicated coaching and mentoring from one of our expert Advisers
• Management training – all Associates receive training from specialist, Ashorne Hill
• Personal development – you will have your own personal training budget
• The opportunity to gain a management qualification/training and the chance to work towards a higher degree.

KTPs span a wide range of academic disciplines and industry sectors. Your KTP could be anything from recipe development for a leading food business, developing marketing campaigns to reach the socially disadvantaged or applying AI to environmental sustainability or health; the projects are diverse; the opportunities are huge.

Typical challenges might focus on designing and introducing new products or better processes, re-organising production facilities, introducing improved quality systems and technology, or developing marketing strategies to break into new markets. The possibilities for transformation via a KTP are almost endless; likewise for KTP Associates. 

KTP Associates spend around 10% of their time in training and personal development. At the start of the KTP you get a training budget to manage – so you decide which courses would benefit you.

You can choose a variety of training modules during your KTP: project management, marketing and communication, finance, leadership and/or personal development, as well as job-specific technical training.

All this in addition to the invaluable experience gained through working on a KTP project with the support of expert teams.

Most current job vacancies for KTP Associates are listed on this site and link you directly to the relevant Knowledge Base job page where you can apply. You may additionally see KTP Associate roles advertised in your university department, careers office, local paper or on recruitment websites.