University consortium gets £7.7m to work with business

A CONSORTIUM of North West universities has won £7.7m funding to help small businesses in the region access knowledge transfer services.

The Unite with Business consortium includes the University of Central Lancashire, Lancaster, Salford, Bolton, Chester and Cumbria universities.

It has been given the money by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to give North West businesses free support through the universities’ knowledge transfer departments.

The programme, administered by the UCLan’s Knowledge Transfer Service, will allow businesses to take on skilled graduate or undergraduate interns for up to six weeks.

The project has already started and will run through to the end of December 2012.

Dr Malcolm McVicar, vice chancellor at UCLan said: “Quite often SMEs do not have the resources available to progress important projects that will improve productivity, efficiency, innovation or increase profitability.

“This new funding will give them assess to the most up-to-date industry knowledge via graduates or consultancy where applicable, and help them achieve their business goals.”

Peter Watson, managing director at Business Link Northwest, said: “Initiatives such as this are more important than ever as they will help to speed up the region’s economic recovery.

“Anything that can help North West SME’s to thrive and grow is a welcome addition to the region’s business support offer and creating jobs for talented graduates will be essential in developing the entrepreneurs and managers of the future.”