Boosting business productivity and working life
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) are a business support solution that enable knowledge transfer between academia and industry. During the KTP, university experts will assist an industrial partner to create strategic and profitable change within their company via a graduate, known as the KTP Associate, who will focus on the specific project. KTPs facilitate the transfer of knowledge and technology and the spread of technical and business skills. Warwick has developed successful KTPs with a range of organisations, including Siemens, AstraZeneca and Infineum. Read more...
Warwick helps drive the West Midlands' position as a powerhouse for innovation
An independent report from innovation and investment consultancy firm, Beauhurst, shows how the University of Warwick is helping to drive the West Midlands’ position as a powerhouse for innovation, which is in turn supporting growth in the local economy. Businesses within the Warwick Innovation District (WID) – an innovation ecosystem that brings together academics, businesses and investors to partake in research and knowledge exchange – raised £35.8m of equity investment in 2021 alone. Since its launch in 2020, WID has helped businesses raise more than £100m in investment. Read more...
Made Smarter £1.9 million digital scheme with WMG to help West Midlands SMEs
WMG was a strategic delivery partner for the £1.9m Made Smarter West Midlands programme (2021-22). This was designed to improve digital skills and drive growth and productivity in West Midlands manufacturing and engineering SMEs. Academic experts from from WMG and the High Value Manufacturing Catapult provided advice to businesses on how to switch to advanced and automated technologies, as well as working to improve employees’ overall digital skills. By sharing knowledge and expertise, local SMEs were able to improve their business productivity, efficiency and outputs. Read more...
Ramfoam embraces digital technology thanks to WMG research and knowledge exchange
Ramfoam, which makes foam products for the military and other organisations, was one of the first businesses to sign up to the West Midlands Made Smarter programme (above) - an initiative aimed at increasing the number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) adopting digital technology in manufacturing. WMG supported Ramfoam to scale up production from 100,000 to two million face visors a week for the Government during Covid-19. As a result, Ramfoam was able to make more than 54 million face shields during the pandemic. Read more...
Partnership with Tech West Mids
In May 2023, the University of Warwick announced a new partnership with Tech West Mids, an organisation that helps tech businesses and entrepreneurs in the region go global. Warwick, as the founding academic patron of Tech WM, hosted the launch of a new ‘West Midlands Tech Review Report’, showing that the West Midlands tech industry is now worth over £15 billion. The findings of the report will galvanise the next steps to drive collaboration and growth throughout our West Midlands’ tech ecosystem. As founding academic patron of Tech West Mids, Warwick is uniquely placed to support growth and collaboration across the region’s tech sector. Read more...
Mental Health and Productivity in the Workplace
Commitment to employee mental health by employers leads to multiple benefits within the workplace and wider community. The Mental Health and Productivity Pilot (MHPP) project involves various stakeholders from across the Midlands and is led by the University of Warwick, Coventry University and the West Midlands Combined Authority. Collaborative partnerships and knowledge exchange have been key throughout. As part of the project, a survey of 1,900 private-sector employees across the Aidlands was conducted, which found that absence of work contributed to over 25% loss of productivity. Read more...