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City puts itself at the forefront of research and innovation partnerships with business.

We have a track record working with organisations of all sizes, from global businesses to local SMEs. When partnering we look to exploit all manner of funding opportunities to grow your business. Work with City to advance scientific understanding or create new conceptual ideas and inventions.

Start a Knowledge Transfer Partnership

A Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) is a partnership between a UK business seeking expertise, a university expert and a recently qualified high quality graduate.

A KTP can last between 12 and 36 months depending on the project and the needs of the business. It is part-funded by a grant. The amount businesses need to contribute is different for SMEs and larger companies.

Each KTP is a three-way partnership between a business, an academic institution and a graduate. The academic institution employs the recently-qualified graduate who works at the company. The graduate, known as the ‘associate’, brings new skills and knowledge to the business.

Discover the benefits of KTPs

  • Get government funding for business development
  • Acquire expert knowledge
  • Turn business ideas into reality
  • Improve your financial performance
  • Use new technologies to improve business performance.

Staff from City, University of London have recently completed several KTPs with outstanding results and it is the desire of both the University and Innovate UK to significantly increase the number of KTPs across City, University of London.

Contact Research and Enterprise to learn more about partnering through a KTP.

Become a more efficient business with a Management KTP

Just like our highly effective KTP programme, Management KTPs (mKTPs) create a dynamic 3-way partnership between your company, a team of academic experts and a skilled graduate. The focus of a mKTP is specifically on increasing effectiveness and improving results through better management practices.

mKTPs aim to enable transformational improvement by identifying key, strategic management-based initiatives to increase business effectiveness. How? Via novel and innovative partnerships with the UK’s world class Business Schools.

Discover what mKTPs can do for you

mKTPs take a wide view, incorporating a range of leadership and management skills and requirements to build a strategy that drives change and improves business performance.

Spanning all key business functions from marketing to IT, creativity to strategic management, HR to employment relations, finance to logistics; mKTPs seek to support strategic management projects across core activities including:

  • Monitoring and target setting
  • Communication and motivation
  • Organisation, resource planning and strategic thinking
  • Problem-solving and decision-making
  • Commercial awareness and risk management
  • Coaching and mentoring
  • Options evaluations, horizon scanning and fore-sighting.

Commission contract research

Contract research is usually an externally-funded academic research activity based in the University, using University resources such as scientific equipment, workshops, laboratories, technical and administrative support staff and one or more researchers with the objective to support or advance Research and Development needs of a business or other organisations.

Contact a Business Development Manager to learn more about contract research with City.

Engage in Industrial doctoral training centres in AI and Cybersecurity

Industrial Studentships can be an excellent way to engage with the University to gain access to new ideas, expertise and capability via the student and their academic supervisor. City, University of London holds applied and interdisciplinary research strengths to solve real-life industrial/business problems using Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity.

By sponsoring an industrial studentship you can specify a PhD topic and work with the student and their supervisor to access basic research outcomes relevant to your business.

In order to deliver Industrial doctoral training programmes in AI and Cyber City, University of London partnered with EIT Digital to support studentships where industry partners have committed 50% of the cost.

The PhD research projects can be scoped out jointly between the company and academic supervisors to address challenges in the areas of:

  • Digital Tech
  • Digital Cities
  • Digital Industry
  • Digital Wellbeing
  • Digital Finance.

Current industrial PhD studentships in AI:

Current industrial PhD studentships in Cybersecurity:

  • Cyber-Resilience of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles – Connected Places Catapult
  • Prediction of SOC Cyber Defence Countermeasures on Adversary Behaviour – BAE Systems
  • Modelling automated Cyber intelligence exchange between Security Operations Centres (SOCs) – BAE Systems.

If you are interested in finding out more about industrial doctoral training programmes in general, contact Brigita Jurisic.

If you are interested in learning about City’s expertise and current research in Artificial Intelligence, please contact the director of Industrial Doctoral Training Program in Artificial intelligence Dr Eduardo Alonso.

If you are interested in learning about City’s expertise and current research in Cybersecurity, please contact the director of Industrial Doctoral Training Program in Cybersecurity Prof Lorenzo Strigini.

Cass Entrepreneurship Fund

The Cass Entrepreneurship Fund is a £10 million venture capital fund, providing growth equity to early stage companies with high growth potential.

The Fund is looking for highly talented management teams, with a clear vision for their business and the drive to meet the challenges of early-stage business development. Entrepreneurs of all backgrounds will be considered for funding - not only those who have graduated from Cass Business School.

Initial investments typically range from £100,000 to £500,000, depending on the stage of the development, structure and financing requirements of the investee company. Businesses should have some revenue traction and will have typically received an initial round of concept-stage or seed funding.

The Cass Entrepreneurship Fund is based at the Peter Cullum Centre for Entrepreneurship, which can also offer flexible workspace to promising businesses founded by Cass alumni.

Read more about our investment criteria and process plus our portfolio of existing companies.

Santander internship funding

As a partner of Santander Universities, City can provide small and medium-sized enterprises with funding and recruitment support for short term summer work projects.

City is part of the Santander Universities network and therefore eligible to participate in the employability programme which aims to create placements for university students and graduates.

Santander Universities support towards employability and in 2012 they launched the SME Internship Programme by our Group Chairman, Ana Botin, to date the programme has supported over 10,000 internships, many of which lead to further employment.

They have an aspiration that in 2020, 80% of students receiving our internships will be from a widening participation background with 75% gaining further employment with the SME they have their internship with.

The Santander Universities Employability scheme is an entrepreneurial work placement programme that provides recent graduates paid work experience over the summer with local businesses. The programme enables participating local businesses to recruit recent graduates from City to undertake valuable work experience.

Funding details

  • Santander contributes £1000 towards each graduate placement; the additional funding is provided by City University’s Innovation funding. The total placement contribution to £1702.40 per placement (fully funded).
  • The host business must be registered in the UK.
  • Eligible organisations include companies, start-ups, sole traders, charities and partnerships from all sectors.
  • Work Placements must only be advertised to recent graduates from City, University of London.
  • The funding covers a 4-week work placement only (based on 35 hours per week) Placements can be extended beyond the 4 weeks or converted into permanent employment, but this must be fully funded by the host business.
  • A host business can take on a maximum of three graduate placements as part of the GradVantage programme (subject to funding availability).
  • When you agree to the funding, you also must agree to the Terms & Conditions provided within the funding agreement and completion of this enables data sharing with Santander Universities portal system to upload your company information.
  • The graduate's salary will be fully funded by the University. The host business must agree to cover any potential National Insurance contributions. These costs, if any, will be billed to the business in accordance with the University's payment terms. The approximate cost will be around £235.
  • The host business can decide to hire the graduate once the placement is over. In this instance the host business can either employ the graduate direcctly or they can continue to be employed through Unitemps. If the latter, the host business will be charged for the worker's salary plus an additional small recruitment charge. See more information about Unitemps.
  • See the full terms and conditions.

Contact details