DMU celebrates 40 years of innovative business partnerships

Businesses are being invited to help celebrate the success of a scheme which shares academic knowledge with industry at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) this week.

The Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) sees academics and postgraduate students work in partnership with businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity.

DMU has been involved since 1978 and has completed more than 110 projects with businesses, delivering expertise and impact through academic research.

Among the success stories are:

• Winning a national award for work to promote Leicester's Phoenix Media Centre as an arts venue
• Boosting annual turnover by £300,000 at one company by developing specialist equipment
• Helping the NHS save tens of thousands of pounds a year by studying energy use and applying more efficient energy management programmes
• Working with Leicester City Council to improve computer skills among secondary school teachers

New projects include working with Airbus on an enhanced KTP, which will seek to research new ways of protecting critical infrastructure.

DMU is celebrating 40 years of KTPs at a business breakfast which takes place at the Innovation Centre on Thursday.

DMU's 100th KTP was reached when the university was asked to help boost business further at bestselling plus-size lingerie company Curvy Kate. 

Academics from Fashion and Textiles worked with the London company to transform its business model and product development.

DMU has a long-established relationship with Curvy Kate through its renowned lingerie design course, Contour Fashion, regarded as one of the best in the world by industry experts.

Graduates have gone on to work with designers including Tommy Hilfiger, Superdry and Triumph as well as Curvy Kate, who supply fashion retailers including Next, ASOS, Debenhams and New Look.

Funded though Innovate UK, the KTP programme is Europe's most successful knowledge transfer programme. It aims to improve the competitiveness, productivity and performance of UK business by accessing the knowledge and expertise available to them at UK universities.