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Gorseinon College recently staged an event to launch the Knowledge Exchange for Further Education Colleges in Wales (KE) project.  The project, which is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and European Structural Funds, through the Academic Expertise for Business (A4B) programme, aims to increase engagement between the colleges and business to assist in the development of the “knowledge economy” in Wales.  The launch was attended by fifteen FE colleges, together with other key stakeholders.

The KE project is hosted by Gorseinon College on behalf of the Further Education (FE) College Network in Wales and one of its key objectives is to develop a formal network for all knowledge transfer staff working in FE colleges in Wales.   In turn, the KE will collaborate with key knowledge transfer stakeholders ,such as The Institute of Knowledge Transfer,  Association for University Research and Industry Links (AURIL) and New Engineering Foundation, many of whom were represented at the launch.

Gill Davies, the College’s Director of Innovation, explained:  “One of the ways our objectives will be achieved is through the dissemination of relevant knowledge transfer information and best practice in the FE sector, via the staging of events, road-shows and a dedicated website www.kefew.net.  Focused, practical workshop activities to explore and provide ways forward for knowledge transfer opportunities for FE colleges in Wales will also be an important element of the project in order to meet the A4B’s objective to maximise the economic impact of academic institutions in Wales.”