The University of Bath has established a new industry mentorship scheme designed to enable engagement between academics and industry for knowledge exchange and the alignment of university research with sector needs.
The Mentoring for Industry Collaboration scheme was co-designed with the Business Partnerships and Knowledge Exchange (BPKE) team and the Faculty of Engineering & Design (FED) at the University of Bath.
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Developed specifically for the faculty, the initiative now includes mentor–mentee partnerships across all FED departments, connecting academics with senior professionals from sectors including aerospace, advanced manufacturing, defence, infrastructure, sustainability and energy and materials.
The scheme allows one-to-one engagement over a 12-month period, supporting academics in upskilling in knowledge exchange, enabling them to engage effectively with industry and develop long-term partnerships that could lead to collaborative research and innovation.
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The scheme has a flexible format to meet individual needs, with each pair of mentors and mentees engaging for at least two hours a month, either virtually or in person, on campus, at the company or in a social setting.
‘Academics across the faculty are highly motivated to work with industry, but many, particularly those earlier in their careers, benefit from structured support to build the networks and connections that make collaboration possible, said Zac Hickman, BPKE manager for FED. ‘This mentoring scheme provides a practical way to explore opportunities, learn from experienced professionals and begin translating research into tangible collaborations.’
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‘I’m delighted that the success of the pilot scheme in mechanical engineering has led to the scheme being rolled out to the entire Faculty of Engineering & Design,’ said Steven Boakes, head of knowledge exchange. ‘Now even more researchers are set to benefit from the individual bespoke support that mentorship offers and will be better equipped to do knowledge exchange and realise the value of knowledge exchange to their research.’
‘As an alumnus of the University of Bath, it’s been a real pleasure to reconnect with the Faculty of Engineering and share industry perspectives from the defence sector,’ said Daniel Weil from defence consultancy TICQ (pictured above). ‘Strengthening these links has been hugely rewarding and it’s especially meaningful to give something back to where my engineering journey began.’
‘It’s a valuable opportunity for me to meet with my mentor to better understand the UK defence industry and explore how my research can achieve greater real-world impact,’ said Weil’s mentee, Aykut Tamer from the Department of Mechanical Engineering. ‘We have already begun a series of networking activities and planned visits to key stakeholders to achieve this goal.’