Karen presents at Henley Business School SME event
Based at the University of Reading, Henley Business School runs regular events for SMEs, from courses to presentations from inspirational local business leaders. The school’s Speakers’ Panel series has proved popular, and Monday night saw the most recent in the series: ‘Boosting Business Performance with a KTP’.
Karen has previously spoken at Henley Business School’s ‘Supporting SMEs’ forum, and was asked to present for a second time at Monday’s event. We have a strong relationship with the University of Reading following our own successful Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP), so Karen was delighted to share our experiences with an audience of SMEs.
Joining Karen on the panel were Mark Ashwell, MD of Trade Mark Windows, who praised the financial, academic and business support of the Knowledge Transfer Centre (KTC) and urged SMEs in the audience to ‘grab a graduate’ and give the KTP a go, and Chris Fifield, Technical Manager at Safe Training Systems & STS Instruments. Chris began his career as a KTP Associate and praised the opportunities for progression and the chance to make a real impact on business success within an SME.
Karen focused on the tangible effects of the KTP on Hireserve – the improved project planning and management now embedded in our day-to-day processes; the new markets that have opened up; the growth of our team and development of in-house skills.
Karen concluded by urging any business owners in the audience with a flicker of interest in the KTP to approach the Knowledge Transfer Centre team and to start a dialogue. For Hireserve, the KTP opened doors for us far beyond our initial project scope. You never know where it might take you.
Interested in a Knowledge Transfer Partnership and how it can boost your business? Please feel free to talk to Karen about our experiences.
Want to find out more about Hireserve’s links with academia? Read Karen’s article for the NCUB.
Are you an SME looking to recruit new talent? Talk to us today about our new recruitment software, developed specifically to be a first step into online recruitment for SMEs.
About the author
Tristan Potter
Tristan has a decade's worth of experience writing content and copy for organisations across Bristol and the Southwest of England. He has written on a diverse range of topics, including technology, philosophy, politics, and recruitment. His writing has appeared in The Drum, HR Grapevine, and The Guardian, among other publications. He joined Hireserve in March 2022.