We’re delighted that our recent Knowledge Transfer Partnership with KROHNE, a world-leading manufacturer and supplier of solutions in industrial process instrumentation, has received an ‘A’ for Outstanding. The award recognises the project’s significant benefits and its excellent demonstration of innovation through collaboration. With only 10% of projects awarded this grade nationally, this is a fantastic achievement for all involved.
The KTP programme, funded by Innovate UK, serves to meet a core strategic need and to identify innovative solutions to help a business grow. KROHNE previously completed a highly successful KTP with the University of Kent in 2013, so when a new challenge arose within the company, they sought to collaborate with Kent academics a second time. Their aim? To extend the application of their flowmeters to open up new market opportunities for the instruments and allow the company to gain a competitive edge in their field. By working in partnership with Kent, they knew they could access expertise which they otherwise didn’t have in house.
The key to a successful KTP is the transfer of knowledge from the Knowledge Base (the University) to the company with the help of a graduate or post-graduate called an ‘Associate’. In this instance, the Associate was based at KROHNE’s R&D site in Wellingborough under the supervision of Prof. Yong Yan from the School of Engineering, and Dr Xue Wang from the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science. The academics offered their unique expertise and experience in soft computing for multiphase flow metering to the company.
As a result of the KTP:
- KROHNE has a product nearing approval and two feasible solutions to move forward into another market;
- The Associate has gained significant professional skills including new instrument development, high-level project management and practical skills for field trials;
- The academic team have enhanced their understanding of product development, regulatory compliance, intellectual property rights and strategic planning;
- The University has published four research papers based on the project, and the research arising from the project has been presented at conferences, seminars, and workshops;
- Students will benefit from real-world examples, with the data gathered having been incorporated into taught modules on both undergraduate and postgraduate courses;
- KROHNE and the University have enhanced their long-term relationship and established a new PhD studentship with significant financial support from KROHNE.
- The academic team have established links with other companies within the KROHNE group, providing opportunities for future collaborations with industrial partners in the field.
Edward Jukes, General Manager at KROHNE, said of the project, “The Knowledge Transfer Partnership provided a unique platform to bring state-of-the-art soft-computing and machine learning techniques into our business to advance our products to a higher capability level. The success of the KTP owed a lot to the capability of the University of Kent in building effective industrial partnerships and having an excellent track record in industrial research. KROHNE will continue to collaborate with Kent beyond the KTP by supporting a new post- graduate studentship which we expect to be just as successful.”
For more information about this KTP, read the full case study on our website. If you are interested in finding out about KTPs, watch our KTP Officer Clare Witcher talking about KTP projects on our YouTube channel, and contact the team to arrange a one-to-one.