People exchange

King’s College London Business and the London Development Agency collaborated in developing a new knowledge transfer funding stream to support small to medium enterprise (SME) companies engaging with universities in London. The funding stream was developed following a piece of research which examined mechanisms of knowledge transfer utilising exchange of people. The work was conducted as part of a two-way secondment in which Dr Kate Hough of King’s Business and Emma Shelley of the LDA were seconded into each other’s organisations for a day each per week for three months. Kate and Emma conducted their research across a selection of London universities, SME businesses, and the Department of Trade and Industry. Their findings formed the basis of the ‘Secondment into Knowledge’ initiative which was launched in November 2006.
Judith Rosser-Davies, Senior Innovation Manager at the LDA, commented: ‘The LDA has hugely benefited from collaborating with King’s Business in developing this project. It has been a fantastic opportunity for us, through Emma, to understand more about King’s, our higher education partners and their activities, whilst giving Kate an insight into the development and approvals processes here at the LDA.’

Dr Frank Boess, Principal Research Scientist at the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, was appointed as the first Eli Lilly Entrepreneur-in-Residence at King’s in late 2005. This was the first such appointment at any UK university. The two-year programme was designed to enable King’s to learn what industry requires from universities: from student placements to licensing and technology transfer. It also identified areas of King’s research and expertise that could provide collaborative opportunities.
Dr Boess commented: ‘I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time to date at King’s. The advice I was able to give to specific projects, regarding their relevance and value to the pharmaceutical industry, was very well received. In 2007 I’ll be continuing to provide information on drug discovery and development in seminars and lecture programmes. I’m looking forward to further interactions with King’s staff and students.’

Dr David Begley, from the Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, King’s College London was appointed as the first King’s Academic-in-Residence at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the UK’s largest research based pharmaceutical company. The Academic-in-Residence project has a two-fold function: firstly to provide input into ongoing research projects at GSK, and secondly to advise King’s on what industry look to universities for - involving all aspects of knowledge transfer from student placements through to in-licensing requirements. He will also identify areas of King's research and expertise that could provide collaborative opportunities