Applied Knowledge Exchange

Santander UK today launched its new funding programme for fast growing companies.

A loan pot of £200m is being made available across the UK as part of the Breakthrough initiative, which is aimed at supporting the SME market through a range of activities including investing in SMEs, together with a number of other initiatives including University courses, research and development and trade missions.

GCU is a member of the prestigious international Santander Universities network, which brings together almost 1,000 universities, throughout Spain, Portugal, Latin America and the UK. This strategic partnership between the University and Santander has created a range of opportunities for both staff and students to participate in a range of activities and to encourage exchange and interaction between members of GCU and other member universities of the Santander Universities network. Each year Santander sponsors one of the University’s annual Magnusson Awards, which provide a one off grant of up to £5,000.

For more information, contact the Applied Knowledge Exchange on 0141 331 3189 or appliedknowledgeexchange@gcu.ac.uk

In this video produced by Universities Scotland, university graduates as well as prominent voices from business and society such as Jim McColl, Peter Lederer and Heather Reid talk about how they have already worked with universities to achieve their diverse ambitions whether it is improving the competitiveness of their business or inspiring the next generation of school children to become excited about science.

Take a look at: http://www.universities-scotland.ac.uk/index.php?page=our-contribution

Glasgow Caledonian University’s Applied Knowledge Exchange has published the Winter edition of Exchange magazine.

The magazine focuses on recent business and knowledge transfer activity at GCU. This edition contains details of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) and our work with the energy sector, food and drink companies and our Business Academies with companies.

For more information, please take a look inside the magazine.

FMC Technologies is to create 240 new research and development and manufacturing jobs in Scotland, many located at its site in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire.

The expansion is being supported with £2.5m in Scottish government grants.

Enterprise Minister Fergus Ewing said: “This decision is testament to the quality and skills of our workforce in engineering and manufacturing. Scotland’s experience in subsea engineering, drilling and fabrication has seen many companies become vital players throughout the world.”

FMC has an R&D partnership with Glasgow Caledonian University – for details, click here.

The Summer 2011 edition of GCU’s Exchange magazine, representing all the latest business news from the Applied Knowledge Exchange, is now out.

This edition features GCU’s partnership with FMC Technologies, GCU’s food and drink activities – including an event with Marks & Spencer and the new Scottish Food Innovation Network – as well as our work with the Third Sector. 

For your print copy, email appliedknowledgeexchange@gcu.ac.uk with your name and address or view it online at www.gcu.ac.uk/business

Macsween, guardian of Scotland’s national dish, is renowned for their traditional haggis and black puddings and, within the industry the business is also known for its environmental credentials. 

Over the years Macsween has managed to reduce their relative energy and water use, divert significant proportions of waste from landfill and implement an ethical sourcing policy.

The Sustainable Food & Drink (SFD) project, run at Glasgow Caledonian University, caught up with James Macsween to find what makes environmental initiatives a high priority at the company.

Read more…

The first electricity has been produced from Scottish and Southern Energy’s Clyde wind farm in South Lanarkshire. The Perth-based company said the first turbine had been “energised” and the electricity exported to the national grid.

More on the BBC news website…

AppleGreen Homes claim its range of “green” homes, which will slash the average electricity bill by £200 and help tackle the problem of fuel poverty, could be about to revolutionise the housing sector in the UK and abroad.

The new BRE Innovation Park at the former Ravenscraig steelworks site in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, will showcase the new Clyde-built homes later this year.

AppleGreen hired city-based Spacesix Architects and Glasgow Caledonian University to research and develop all aspects of the build with an edict that the new generation homes had to be “highly energy efficient yet affordable”.

Click for more info or see the Evening Times for the full article.

In an interview with Business Insider magazine, ClydeUnion Pumps boss Jim McColl reveals his thinking and what has helped to make him a global success.

ClydeUnion Academy Launch

He also talks about the ClydeUnion Academy, a training partnership with Glasgow Caledonian University, and his influences which have led him to create a group which has a portfolio of some 83 companies in 27 different countries turning over £1.5bn and employing more than 6000 people.

Click here for the full article.

Howden has agreed to acquire Thomassen Compression Systems BV to open up a much wider market for the company in the oil & gas and petrochemical industries. Howden said this acquisition represents a real boost for the Renfrew-headquartered multinational as it builds its compressor businesses worldwide and moves into new markets.

Bob Cleland, Chief Executive of Howden said “I am absolutely delighted with this acquisition which adds a major range of complementary products to our compressor portfolio. It increases our activities in the refining and petrochemical sectors, which have been underweight compared to our core market of power generation. It is part of our strategy to widen our range of products used in performance critical applications in key global infrastructure industries. This acquisition reinforces Howden’s position as a significant part of Scottish engineering, a sector which continues to play a leading role in the country’s economy”.

Howden and Glasgow Caledonian University have worked in partnership to develop Howden Academy, which was launched in July 2008. The Academy combines Howden’s specialist engineering skills and experience with the teaching expertise and worldclass learning facilities of Glasgow Caledonian University. Howden Academy helps the company to attract and retain the very best engineers. It provides new personnel with the fastest possible route to full productivity and allows them to quickly start making a genuine contribution to the company’s activities.

For more information on business training academies, please contact the Applied Knowledge Exchange on 0141 331 3189 or email appliedknowledgeexchange@gcu.ac.uk