HW graduate helps create award-winning business partnership

An Edinburgh academic and the world-leading Scottish alloy recycling firm, Caledonian Alloys, have been awarded a prestigious award for best 'Knowledge Transfer Partnership' (KTP) in Scotland.

Professor James Ritchie, Mechanical Engineer of the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences at Heriot-Watt University, and his colleagues helped the firm significantly alter their supply chain management. They achieved this in partnership with KTP associate and Heriot-Watt graduate, Andreas Holter.

Prof Ritchie said: “We are delighted to have received this award which recognises the achievements of an incredibly well motivated and hard-working team comprising the university and Caledonian Alloys, together with an outstanding young Associate and Heriot-Watt Logistics MSc graduate, Andreas Holter.”

KTP is a UK-wide programme that helps bring together businesses and academics to improve competitiveness with the help of higher education establishments' research and resources.

The programme usually consists of three main players: a business, a higher education establishment and a KTP associate who is able to communicate with both the academic and business ends and implement the ideas.

Prof Ritchie said: “The benefits to the company, the associate and the University were substantial and reflect the considerable opportunities available to organisations through participation in the KTP Scheme. Thanks must also go to the East of Scotland KTP Centre for their excellent support throughout the project and Heriot-Watt’s Technology & Research Services.”

KTP Associates are typically recently qualified people and their position as an Associate leads to 60 percent gaining employment with the company partner and the rent registering for a higher degree.

They are not the only beneficiaries in the scheme, however, as for every £1 million of government expenditure, “the average benefits to the company amounted to a £4.25 million annual increase in profit before tax, £3.25 million investment in plant and machinery, with 112 new jobs created and 214 company staff trained as a direct result of the project,” according to KTP's website.

Furthermore, for the higher education establishment each KTP Associate project produces on average 3.6 new research projects and 2 research papers.

The collaboration between Heriot-Watt and Caledonian Alloys will move on to KTP's nationwide awards ceremony in London on 10 March 2010 for the chance to win £10,000 and be recognised as the best knowledge transfer partnership in the UK.

Edinburgh will be further represented by Tim Waterstone, chancellor of Edinburgh Napier University and founder of Waterstone’s Booksellers, who will give the keynote speech.