Visionary Business Technology Partnership Is Best In UK
Left to right: Dr Rich Edwards (Academic Supervisor, CAST, UWB), Bryn Jones (KTP Manager, UWB),
The Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MBE (Minister for Industry and the Regions),
Wendy Wedmore (Chief Executive, VST), Edmond Yau (KTP Associate).
On Wednesday March 14th 2007, Bangor University and Vision Support Trading scooped the top prize at the prestigious 'Knowledge Transfer Parnerships 2007 Awards' ceremony in London. The ceremony was attended by Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MBE (Minister for Industry and the Regions), Sir David King (the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser and Head of the Office of Science and Innovation) and other distinguished guests from the DTI and the UK's Technology Strategy Board.
The partnership between the University and Chester-based Vision Support Trading was praised by the Minister for its achievements, which included the development of automated transcription services for the production of Braille, large print and audio materials for companies with visually-impaired customers. The following short video was commissioned for the Awards ceremony:
The Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) scheme is a Government initiative that helps businesses improve their competitiveness and productivity through access to technology and expertise from the UK's knowledge base. In this partnership, Dr Rich Edwards (from the University's Centre for Advanced Software Technology, CAST) supervised Edmond Yau, a first class honours MEng graduate from York, in the development of an automated transcription system built upon advanced but cost-effective 'open source' software and standards. As a result of the scheme, VST have been able to win substantial new contracts and their outstanding success has attracted industry recognition, resulting in nominations for the Cheshire Business Awards and a National Social Enterprise Award.
Dr Edwards attributes the success of the partnership to the company's high-level of commitment. "We were fortunate that the company had well established processes based on paper and manual systems. It gave us a green field opportunity to develop an alternative to the company's more manually intensive procedures and to enhance several others."
Wendy Wedmore (Chief Executive of VST)
Speaking of the company's success, VST Chief Executive Wendy Wedmore added, "This partnership has had a significant impact on the company's performance and we have experienced phenomenal growth as a business because of it. Our profits are covenanted to a charity, Vision Support, which provides rehabilitation services for visually-impaired people in the Cheshire and North Wales region, so our success has led to tangible social benefits for these communities."
The technical know-how on which the new systems are founded was originally developed as part of the pan-European 'SCOPE' (Structured Content in Online Publishing Environments) research project managed by Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. The Bangor team, led by Dr Edwards and Prof Sian Hope, contributed expertise in open standards proposed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), to automate the creation of multiple language versions of medical articles.
The partnership is ongoing and is developing into several new areas. A new KTP proposal between VST and the University's School of Computer Science will 'square the circle' by tackling the extraction of information direct from paper sources, whilst ensuring the company's rigorous quality-assurance procedures are maintained.
The profits generated by VST's commercial services have allowed the charity to expand their free rehabilitation services and extend their network of drop-in centres for visually-impaired people in North Wales and Cheshire. Furthermore, following a recent successful GO Wales placement of a visually-impaired UWB graduate, the charity are embarking on their own KTP with Dr Edwards and the team at CAST, to exploit leading edge assistive technologies and develop location-aware technology to aid mobility and to reduce the social isolation felt by many visually-impaired people.
Bangor University's Vice-Chancellor, Professor Merfyn Jones said, "We are very proud of these fantastic achievements. They highlight the quality of the research by our academics and its relevance to the world of business." He added, "Bangor University has developed an enviable reputation for its knowledge transfer activities. These awards recognise the emphasis we place on working in partnership with business."
For more information on knowledge transfer opportunities with CAST, please email us.
