SOAS’s first ever grant secured to help business innovate and grow
Researchers at SOAS University of London have been successful in securing our first ever Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP).
The programme aims to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills within the UK knowledge base. This KTP project is funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through Innovate UK.
The government backed KTP removes various barriers for businesses allowing them to bring in new skills and current academic thinking from SOAS. In this partnership, an in-house Associate will be employed by SOAS to help the business with their goals.
The SME business that will be benefitting from the partnership is insurance company, Eversure. A fast-growing, Guildford-based insurance intermediary, Eversure is disrupting markets that include insurance for vehicle breakdown, car hire excess, bicycles, and caravans, as well as cover for cameras and drones. The academic support provided by this SOAS-acquired grant will focus on fulfilling Eversure’s strategic goals and assisting with data analytics.
Lasting 24 months, Dr Jaideep Oberoi, Senior Lecturer at SOAS’s School of Finance and Management, will be leading the project. He says, “We are pleased to have received this first ever Innovate UK grant at SOAS and feel it’s a great way to contribute to the SME community in the UK. We’re looking forward to bringing our knowledge and expertise to the table alongside UCL and working with Eversure to help them achieve their business goals.”
UCL’s Yiting Deng has been named the academic partner and will be responsible for their input into the programme with Dr Oberoi.
Currently, around 800 businesses covering 100 knowledge bases and involving over 800 graduates are involved in Knowledge Transfer Partnerships. Each SME business is trying to solve a specific strategic innovation challenge they face, using the knowledge and expertise they have been presented with in the form of their new graduate Associate.
SOAS will soon begin the hiring process for a knowledgeable, experience-hunting Associate to fill this role and begin the journey with Eversure.
