Relationship building is at the heart of any interaction intended to lead to ongoing engagement.\u00a0University Knowledge\u00a0Exchange is no exception to this, which is why we have a Business and Industry Relationship\u00a0Team to help create relationships between academic researchers and external partners for collaborative working.<\/p>\n
The Business and Industry Relationship Team within the University of Kent\u00a0supports the development of partner engagement\u00a0in a number of ways. This includes widening understanding, establishing\u00a0connections,\u00a0and developing opportunities.<\/p>\n
Widening understanding\u00a0is\u00a0a key first step for\u00a0developing a working\u00a0relationship\u00a0so that all sides know what is offer and what can work.\u00a0This\u00a0involves\u00a0widening\u00a0understanding outside of the University about the range of research expertise available to help business, and awareness inside the University\u00a0as to how the latest\u00a0research can be applied to business needs.\u00a0This could be anything from how the\u00a0latest technology can support\u00a0business\u00a0operations, through to how working as a group can impact successful decision making.\u00a0The\u00a0Business resilience webinars<\/a>\u00a0are an example of\u00a0a programme that\u00a0enabled University academics to share their expertise across a range of themes and hear back from the business community as to what their needs were and how collaboration could help.<\/p>\n Establishing connections at an individual and industry wide level\u00a0are a further part of collaborative relationship building.\u00a0Booking an introductory conversation<\/a>\u00a0is a first step to engage with the Business Relationships Team to discover how\u00a0partner\u00a0needs can be matched with expertise, and the full range of ways to engage with\u00a0that\u00a0expertise.\u00a0The\u00a0HR Network<\/a>\u00a0managed\u00a0by the team is a pivotal part of our connection building\u00a0for an industry wide function. The University\u2019s\u00a0recent HR Conference, explored the ways in which the latest research and industry thinking can support business change, and,\u00a0as a network,\u00a0was also\u00a0space for connections between partners as well as with the University\u00a0itself.<\/p>\n The exciting thing about new connections is that the opportunities that develop are varied and wide ranging.\u00a0The University of Kent\u00a0Knowledge Exchange offer<\/a>\u00a0has a number of routes from direct consultancy, jointly accessed innovation funding,\u00a0Knowledge Transfer Partnerships<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Student Knowledge Exchange. The choice of which type of opportunity is best suited for a partnership will be supported by the Business and Industry Relationship Team,\u00a0who can work\u00a0to develop the project approach most suited for the time and need. This will always be with a view to successful ongoing engagement and continued application of research through Knowledge Exchange.<\/p>\n
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