Applied Knowledge Exchange

The Applied Knowledge Exchange shall be going to the S2S fair in Edinburgh next month to promote its activities in Social Enterprise. Come and say hello to us at the exhibition!

The Applied Knowledge Exchange attended Holyrood Magazine’s Enterprise Scotland 2010 event in Edinburgh to hear Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism Jim Mather and Scottish Enterprise’s Lena Wilson give their visions for a stronger Scotland for business.

Lena Wilson insisted that Scotland’s businesses had ‘very serious challenges’ and were underperforming against the UK economy and global competitors. Ms Wilson said Scotland had a low number of businesses per head of the population, and that our businesses were very small.

Her aims for focus? Commercialisation and Internationalism. Ms Wilson said we need to capitalise on our world-class research in life sciences, food and drink and energy.

GCU is currently leading the £3.3m European study aimed at tacking foot and ankle pain.

Ms Wilson also emphasised the potential for Scotland’s businesses to export to China and India. Only 50 Scottish companies are active in China, she says, compared to over 200 Finnish businesses.

She called for a ’greater sense of ambition in businesses and the public sector’.

Jim Mather said we need a ‘new beginning in Scotland’, insisting that the Government was supporting ’sustainable economic growth’. He claimed ‘few sectors will offer Scotland as much as the energy sector’ and emphasised his goals of manufacturing innovation and private investment in renewables. The Scottish Government is to publish its Energy Efficiency Plan this spring.

Five Glasgow Caledonian University staff are participating in an Understanding Social Enterprise course run by the Social Enterprise Academy this week.

The course is part of a Scottish Government initiative to foster stronger links between University’s and the burgeoning social enterprise sector in Scotland.

We will also be helping place students in social enterprises and showcasing our activity in this area at the S2S trade fair.

Follow us on Twitter #CaledonianAKE to find out more about our work in this area.

Daniel Sutherland, designer of a quick-heating baby bottle called the Milkistar, has been hitting the headlines this week.

Daniel has been assisted with the design by the Applied Knowledge Exchange’s Business Transformation Fund, which helps fund innovative product research. 

Check out the Press & Journal article:

Glasgow Caledonian University’s School of Health will lead a £3.3million European Commission-funded study aimed at tackling chronic foot and ankle pain including such diseases as Diabetic Foot.

Jim Woodburn, Professor of Rehabilitation at GCU, is working on the A-FOOTPRINT project to develop new orthotic devices to support or correct musculoskeletal problems.

See more about Jim’s work in this video clip. Biomechanics – Jim Woodburn

The Applied Knowledge Exchange is also working with Promedics Orthapaedic with its orthapaedic research, through the Business Transformation Fund grant that allows SMEs to work collaboratively with Glasgow Caledonian University and access specialist expertise including consultancy, contract research and access to facilities or equipment.

We are getting together some new case studies showcasing the business development, education, research and consultancy services you can get at Glasgow Caledonian University through the Applied Knowledge Exchange.

Get in touch if you would like a pack or some more information about business qualifications, funding your business enterprise in Scotland or part-time training, and we can send you some by post or email.

Glasgow Caledonian University will be attending the KTP Scotland Awards Ceremony on 2nd February at the Doubletree Dunblane Hydro in Perthshire.

Glasgow Caledonian Uni has had several successful KTP partnerships with businesses including Novograf.

Current KTPs include those with Fearsom UK and If Only Holidays Limited.

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships is Europe’s leading programme helping business to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills that reside within the UK knowledge base.

At the Applied Knowledge Exchange, we welcome enquiries about funding and eligibility for Knowledge Transformation Partnerships from business and third sector organisations.

The main speaker at this year’s event will be Lord Smith of Kelvin, Chancellor of the University of the West of Scotland.

Scottish businesses are being offered a new grant of £1,000 by the Scottish Government to take on an apprentice. The £4 million scheme will run until March 26 and is available for up to 4000 employers.

The scheme is part of ScotAction, a scheme to help individuals and businesses through the recession and provide skills assistance for training for work, training in work and training from work to work to help Scottish people and businesses survive the downturn and thrive when the economy starts to recover.

Glasgow Caledonian University is also offering businesses bespoke study programmes and part-time education to allow them to boost their employees’ skills set. To find out more, contact the Applied Knowledge Exchange on 0141 331 3189.

Forty percent of Scotland’s students are now taking part-time study options as people try to balance work with studying. The Scottish Government has also provided financial assistance for part-time students.

The Open University and Scotland’s universities have seen soaring interest in part-time options, particularly in science, technology and engineering subjects. There are over 272,000 students in Scotland, of which 110,000 are part-time.

Here at Glasgow Caledonian University, we can offer part-time education programmes to allow workers to study in the evenings or top up their skills with flexible work-based learning.

Let the Applied Knowledge Exchange help your business boost its staff skills with part-time studying.

Glasgow Caledonian University is already gearing up for a busy year of new courses and seminars created especially for businesses.

First up is a new Top Up MSc programme in Human Resource Management, aimed at HR and business professionals who already hold the postgraduate Diploma in HRM and would like to advance to MSc level.

Launching on Thursday 4th February 2010, the course involves two taught modules comprising Consulting for Strategic Change, and Leadership and HR Management.

Launching this spring, Economics for Equality is a short course to help policy makers, community activists and businesses to understand how talking the language of economics can help in the promotion of gender equality.

Economics for Equality will provide your organisation with a supportive learning environment to explore the relevance of gender and the economy to public spending, policy making and your business.

Also on the cards for March 2010 is Glasgow Caledonian University’s Postgraduate Certificate in Social Enterprise is the only postgraduate degree in Scotland designed specifically for the growing Social Enterprise sector. It was developed through the collaboration of Glasgow Caledonian University and the Scottish Social Enterprise Academy to provide organisations with techniques to aid them in demonstrate greater entrepreneurial flair, innovation and self-reliance. The year-long part-time course has been designed to meet the needs of busy professionals and has been designed for flexibility around three weekends.

For more information on any of these courses, click here or contact the Applied Knowledge Exchange on 0141 331 3125.