Academic consultancy is a powerful and effective way of achieving immediate impact at scale.
It bridges academic, government, business and industry needs, sharing expertise and insights with external organisations locally, nationally and globally.
Often leading to further collaborations, it can lay the foundations for larger-scale partnerships. It spans all disciplines and can take many forms, from providing expert advice to organising bespoke training programmes.
Our role is to simplify the process and minimise risk, enabling our consultants to focus on delivering the work and maximising impact. Last year, once again, set new records and increased activity, with new disclosures, executed agreements and new consultants engaged up 14%, 8% and 16%, respectively, on the previous year.
“Through the Infosys consultancy, our researchers have shared their expertise with a global company, resulting in potential worldwide economic and societal impact.”
Dr Amanda Zeffman, Head of Consultancy Services and Research Tool
Consultancy activity generates positive outcomes beyond the societal impact from the sharing of expertise. Income from consultancy is frequently donated to fund other activities within University departments, such as research posts. Undertaking consultancy can lead to skills expansion and provides a mechanism to put research into practice with real data, gathering real-life examples for teaching.
“The insight gained from their interactions with industry specialists has allowed the researchers to hone their skills and expertise, further ensuring that Cambridge remains at the forefront in the rapidly evolving field of AI.”
Infosys collaboration
A pilot project was recently completed with global next-generation digital services and consulting firm Infosys. Led by Dr James Fergusson, a team from the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics delivered an innovative training programme for Infosys, focused on the mathematical underpinnings and applications of machine learning and AI.
During an 18-month collaboration, 400 Infosys employees were provided with specialised training in data-science methods and advanced algorithms to upskill their approach to, and the quality of, their work. Additionally, 60 top-performing employees attended a two-week training course in Cambridge focused on the latest machine-learning techniques and developments.
The collaboration leveraged the capabilities and legacies of Infosys and University research to foster innovation and digital expertise, facilitating knowledge exchange for mutual benefit and leading to other exciting partnership opportunities.
Image credits: David Johnson, Unsplash, Adobe Stock
