Supporting Business Collaboration

The Computer Science and Technology department operates or participates in a number of initiatives that provide businesses with the opportunity to collaborate with quality graduates and academic expertise to facilitate their operational objectives.

Centre for Academic into Business Computing

The centre for Academic into Business Computing is a dedicated unit setup to support computing students working on commercial projects as part of their degree.

The aim of these projects is to support a clients business technical development and at the same time offers computing students an opportunity to gain valuable project and technical experience.

As part of a team the student works closely with the client to deliver a required solution and being fully supported by academic staff they are involved in the design, development and delivery of the project’s requirements. These projects equip our students with essential skills required to successfully enter the workplace and provide a valuable business service.

The projects are entry level, currently run with a cost attached with the client paying average £700 for a 4 month part-time project.

KTP - Knowledge Transfer Partnerships

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP), is an established and successful Government supported scheme, designed to give companies access to university knowledge and expertise. Small and medium sized businesses from most sectors with potential to grow can take advantage of:

The knowledge and skills of a high calibre graduate
The support and expertise of academics and researchers

On average, graduates will work for two years within a company as a KTP Associate and focus on a project of strategic importance. This might be to increase sales, develop new products or markets, enhance software development or streamline existing processes.

Though this is a government initiative the company involved will incur cost of approximately £20,000 a year to partly cover the associate’s wage and the academic support.

CASE Studentships

Industrial CASE are three and a half year postgraduate awards allocated to companies either directly or via agents (Knowledge Transfer Networks and Regional Development Agencies). The aim of the awards is to enable companies to take the lead in defining, and arranging, projects, with an academic partner of their choice.

The company is required to provide a cash contribution of a minimum of one third of the EPSRC contribution. This contribution is supplementary (on top of) EPSRC's award. At present rates this equates to a minimum of approximately £21,000 over the duration of the project. The company must also commit to the student spending at least three months, during the period of the award, at their premises and pay any travel and subsistence costs the student accrues during this period.

Funded MSc (Research)

MSc by Research can be either full or part time but in both cases the student will focus on a particular area of importance in order to produce a comprehensive research report and usually a supporting element of practical work.

In the case of a business funded MSc the research focus will be directed towards a project of strategic importance that will be of value to the business.

Full time MSc’s will run for one year and part-time approximately three years, the approximate total cost to a business funding the MSc is £24,000.

Consultancy

Members of the Academic team provide support to projects at a competitive consultancy rate. Extensive expertise is available across the subject area of Computer Science and Information Systems and businesses should contact the department to discuss their requirements.

Student Placements (Sandwich Year)

The department’s Sandwich Year Placement enable 2nd year students to enter full time commercial employment in a computing or IT focused role where they can work on real projects and day to day operational duties.

This initiative provides the business with the opportunity to assess potential future employees whilst benefiting from enthusiastic, professional students with up-to-date knowledge and skills. The student benefits by gaining genuine practical experience which will strengthen their understanding of real world projects and business practices.

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Supporting Business Collaboration