August 30, 2022, by jhillary1

Knowledge Transfer Partnership – My Time as an Associate Working on a Collaborative Project

A Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) is a three-way project between a recent graduate (KTP Associate), a business and a university. KTPs offer you the opportunity to apply your academic knowledge to real-world challenges. Projects are varied, spanning all academic disciplines and organisations of any size and in any industry. 

As a KTP associate, you will:

• Work in both a commercial and academic setting
• Fast track your career development with a substantial training and development budget
• Turn ideas into impact and apply your knowledge

Sara Bru Garcia, provides an insight into their collaborative project:

I am a KTP associate working on a collaborative project between the University of Nottingham and the Together Agency, a creative marketing and communications agency based in Nottingham. 

When did you get involved with KTP?

I joined this role shortly after finishing my PhD in psychology, as it seemed like the perfect opportunity to use my knowledge and skills in a more agile applied setting whilst still maintaining a connection with academia. Aside from allowing you to test whether you would be happy applying your skills in industry, as a KTP associate you also get a generous training budget, which allows you to attend conferences and continue to develop your academic and technical skills for the project but also beyond for your future career.  

How was the recruitment process?

The recruitment process involved two main stages:

Interview

First, I was interviewed by a panel that included the main two academics in the project and a representative from the agency. The interview was challenging and included general questions about my background and capabilities and also scenario and competency-based questions. The interview included a task as well. I was sent an academic paper and given about 20 minutes to read it and summarise the main insights, which I had to present back to the panel.

Second interview

I also had a second less formal interview with the managing director at the agency. This was more about bouncing ideas and potential ways to achieve the project’s aims.  

What did your project involve?

The objective of the project is to embed behavioural psychology methods and insights into the Together Agency, giving them an extra capability and a point of difference compared to their competitors. I spend most of my time based at the agency. The work is very agile. My responsibilities are varied and include doing desk research, identifying useful insights from the behavioural sciences, and presenting and delivering workshops to stakeholders in order to up skill the team on frameworks from psychology and behaviour change, and how they can be applied to their roles. My role also has a more academic side that involves, for example, mentoring intern students, presenting at conferences and writing academic papers for publication.  

What is your advice for others considering KTP?

If you have ever wondered whether you wanted to continue in academia or move into industry, the KTP might just be the perfect role for you. As the KTP associate, you will be the bridge between both worlds. Whatever you decide to do next, it will be a foundation step in your career path.

If you are interested in finding out more, please visit the KTP  webpage or send them an email.  If you want to discuss your options, you can book a careers appointment.

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