Are you looking for an opportunity to fast-track your career, apply your academic knowledge and manage a challenging, real-world project? If the answer is yes, being a KTP Associate could be the next step.
As a KTP Associate, you will be employed to manage an innovative, strategic project that is critical to a company's growth and development. Projects can be in any sector and businesses of all sizes can participate. You will be jointly recruited by the business and Cranfield University and will receive support from teams at both organisations.
What are the benefits of becoming a KTP Associate?
- The chance to implement strategic development within an innovative company.
- You will be employed by Cranfield but based at the company. Your salary will be in line with industry standards and with other company employees at a similar level.
- You will receive a personal development budget of £2,000/year with 10% of your time allocated to development activities. You will also attend two one-week residential training modules at Ashorne Hill to develop your core project management and people skills.
- There is a high chance of being employed by the host company at the end of project. In 2022, 65% of Associates secured full-time positions at their host company.
- You may have the opportunity to attend conferences, trade shows, exhibitions, contribute to research papers, develop case studies and input into academic teaching materials.
- As a Cranfield employee, you will have access to internal training courses, the library and sports facilities, as well as the option to join the University Pension Scheme.
Hear what our KTP Associates say
Name: Fatemeh Mashak Job title: Data Scientist in Obsolescence Management
Company: Siemens Energy Industrial Turbomachinery Ltd
Bio: My background is in electrical engineering, and I love coding. When I was working as a hardware engineer I was coding for hardware. I am currently working as a data scientist, where I develop statistics and machine learning models to assess risk and make predictions.
Key aims or outcomes from your work: Companies like Siemens Energy, which produce assets with a long life cycle, have challenges in providing the continuous availability of the assets since the life cycle of the asset is much longer than its components. In the obsolescence KTP project, I’m working on designing strategies for mitigating the effects of obsolete parts on the availability and reliability of gas turbines.
Name: Dr Joongsup Yun Job title: Object Classification and Threat Identification Expert
Company: Operational Solutions Ltd
Bio: I hold a PhD in Aerospace Engineering and my research interests include guidance, navigation, control theory, state estimation techniques, and system performance analysis. While working for the South Korean defence industry company LIG Nex1, I participated in projects for missile and space launch systems. I worked for the University of Glasgow as a postdoctoral researcher, conducting a project on analysing radar characteristics of unmanned aerial vehicles or drones. I am currently working on a project related to detection, tracking, identification, and behavioural analysis of drones at Cranfield University.
Key aims or outcomes from your work: OSL's FACE (Fusion, Assessment and Control Engine) is software that delivers innovative algorithms for data association and geospatial fusion and classification, and identification of drone targets. As an objective classification and threat identification expert, I will enhance the overall performance of FACE by applying advanced classification and identification techniques.
Name: Max Nentwich, MEng, AMIMechE Job title: Research Engineer in Laser Welding
Company: Cambridge Vacuum Engineering
Bio: I was born in Germany, before moving to Cambridge as a child and living there until university. Growing up bilingual has been a great help now I am working in power-beam welding, which has a heavy German presence in Europe. I completed an integrated master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Manchester before joining Cranfield University as a KTP Associate. I also have some industrial experience in the automotive sector. I am now back living in Cambridge, working at Cambridge Vacuum Engineering (CVE) to complete my KTP project on vacuum laser welding.
Key aims or outcomes from your work: The project initially aimed to overcome some of the technical challenges in the implementation of vacuum laser welding and to gain fundamental process understanding. We have now well exceeded these initial goals and vacuum laser welding machines are a firm part of CVE’s portfolio, with solutions already reaching customers before the project’s end. We are currently pushing the limits of vacuum laser welding and testing what this remarkable process can offer the world of welding and joining.
Name: Atharva Gadkari Job title: V2X Systems Engineer
Company: Nissan Technical Centre Europe
Bio: I'm currently working as a KTP Associate with Cranfield University and the Nissan Technical Centre Europe. Originally from Mumbai, I completed my Bachelor's in Instrumentation Engineering from the University of Mumbai. Recently, I have secured my MSc in Renewable Energy from Cranfield University. Throughout my career, I have been involved in various academic and industrial projects, including being selected as a finalist in the Solar Decathlon India National Net Zero Design Challenge of 2021-2022. My passion is to bring smarter and sustainable solutions to combat climate change through clean energy and connected mobility.
Key aims or outcomes from your work: The project aims to understand and develop the connected mobility space by introducing commercially viable V2G and V2X capabilities of passenger electric vehicles. A V2X-enabled vehicle would have the ability to seamlessly connect and communicate with their drivers and surroundings. This project focuses on integrating EVs with the roads, other vehicles, transport infrastructure and the energy grid, with academic and industrial collaboration. The outcomes of this project would lead to passenger cars being more than just a medium for transport, by being actively involved in road communication for safety and energy storage for the improved grid flexibility and sustainability.
Name: Dr Ayse Mujdeci Job title: Tyre Stress Analyst and Designer
Company: Dunlop Aircraft Tyres Limited
Bio: I am a KTP Associate in the School of Aerospace, Transport and Manufacturing at Cranfield University. My research involves developing a predictive fatigue analysis tool for fatigue life estimation of aircraft tyres. Prior to my academic career, I worked as a civil engineer, where I developed practical knowledge on structures involving different materials and forms of construction. I completed my Master of Science (MSc) degree in Civil Engineering Structures at City University of London in 2017. I joined the Structures section at Imperial College London to undertake a PhD and completed it in 2023. During my PhD, I participated in a research project which was supported by Swiss National Science Foundation Postdoc.
Key aims or outcomes from your work: This project aims to develop a reliable and robust numerical modelling techniques that can be implemented to predict fatigue behaviour of aircraft tyres.
Name: Jayashri Goddanti Job title: Digital Twin Engineer
Company: Levidian Nanosystems
Bio: My background includes a BTech in Electronics and Communication Engineering, and I began my career as an SAP ABAP Developer at Accenture Solutions Pvt Ltd. I hold an MSc in Management and Information Systems from Cranfield University. Currently, I am employed as a KTP Associate in collaboration with Cranfield and Levidian Nanosystems, where my focus is on developing a digital twin for the decarbonisation device designed to accelerate the world’s transition to net zero, LOOP. I'm passionate about developing projects that address real-world challenges, especially those that contribute positively to both the environmental landscape and the UK.
Key aims or outcomes from your work: The pivotal outcome of the project lies in constructing an exact digital replica of the innovative LOOP device. The scope involves capturing real-time parameters of the device that serve as the foundation for optimising the efficiency and interoperability of LOOP. By utilising cutting-edge digital twin technology, the aim is to enhance the system's overall performance. This multifaceted strategy not only involves real-time monitoring of the device's KPIs but also plays a crucial role in conducting strategic decision-making and predictive insights.
Latest roles
If you are looking to take the next step in your career and gain valuable experience in a real-world environment, take a look at Cranfield’s KTP Associate opportunities:
- Find out more about the KTPs at Cranfield on our web pages;
- Cranfield KTP vacancies can be found on our jobs website;
- For more information about KTPs, visit the Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Network website;
- Find all KTP Associate vacancies on the Innovate UK KTP job pages or search on jobs.ac.uk.
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