Karl has been a member of the Research and Innovation Services team at Cardiff Met since 2015 after joining us from another university. He joined academia following his successful Graphic Design career in the creative industries. Karl works closely with external organisations to develop collaborative innovation and research projects. His varied experience assists in identifying suitable opportunities for collaboration, harnessing the expertise and facilities on offer at Cardiff Met. He spends time understanding the needs of businesses and public sector colleagues to identify opportunities and provide guidance on available funding streams in order to devel-op beneficial outcomes. You are likely to spot Karl at the networking events and seminars he regularly attends with the aim of providing support to a wide range of organisations.
How would you describe your role?
“I’m the first point of contact for anyone seeking help and advice regarding any challenges or problems their organisation is facing. I’m privileged to work across all schools and departments at Cardiff Met. This provides me with a fantastic insight into the width and breath of exper-tise and facilitates we have to offer industry and wider communities. I’ve been likened to Cardiff Met’s ‘dating agent’ by some as I match industry needs/challenges with academic expertise. Getting businesses connected with the correct school and academic colleagues is critical in progressing initial discussions and developing successful projects. My ‘little black book’ has grown with wide variety of contacts following many years of building contacts and networks. This allows me to connect not just academic expertise with industry challenges but also com-plimentary businesses skills and expertise.” What is your favourite aspect of your role? “I love meeting the people behind the business, and enjoy being able to introduce them to experts at the University. There are various funding methods that are available to assist their companies to work collaboratively with Cardiff Met, and I enjoy working through the options with people to find the right fit for them. It is a surprise to many that there are schemes which offer fantastic value for money with subsidies of up to 75% for Welsh based SMEs, as well as R&D expenditure Tax Breaks, and special incentives for first time investors in R&D to help support them working with academia. I enjoy helping companies access this support and watching them flourish as a result.”
Why should a business consider partnering with Cardiff Met?
“We are focussed on helping external organisations to solve problems, face challenges, innovate, and provide real life impact. Cardiff Met has a strong track record of delivering successful and practical projects, and we are an open and friendly team keen to apply our expertise in the real world.”
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