Industrial Partnership Committee (IPC)

We encourage our industrial partners to get involved in activities across the department. By sharing our knowledge, skills, and facilities, we help our partners innovate while making our research more impactful, our teaching more relevant, and providing our students with valuable opportunities during and after their studies.

The Industrial Partnership Committee (IPC) brings together partners from a range of sectors with significant engineering activities, welcoming both small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and large organisations. Participation helps create meaningful collaborations that benefit both industry and academia. To learn more about joining IPC and benefiting from our industry connections, click here.

Why Collaborate with Us?

Our interdisciplinary research programs, world-class facilities, and unique range of expertise make industry collaboration with the Department of Engineering rewarding and mutually beneficial. In partnership with Durham University Business and Innovation Services, we offer a range of opportunities for collaborating with industry, from SMEs to multinationals:

• Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and Secondments (KTP/KTS): we help industry partners access academic expertise to solve business challenges through KTP and KTS programs, facilitating knowledge transfer and innovation.
• Consultancy: our staff provide consultancy services based on their areas of expertise. For more information, see our staff pages and research nodes pages.
• Research Projects: collaboration on cutting-edge research, including innovation projects and funding calls.
• Student Engagement: collaborate with our students through Capstone projects, mentoring, internships, and recruitment events.
• Technology Commercialisation: collaborate on bringing new technologies to market and commercialising research outputs.

Collaborative Opportunities and External Resources

We work closely with a range of groups both within and outside the University to connect you with the best possible collaboration and support options. If consultancy isn't the right fit for your needs, we can introduce you to other teams and services that offer alternative pathways for engagement:

• Durham Business Partnerships: facilitates partnerships between external organisations and the University to create new research and commercial opportunities.
• The Business partnerships and Engagement team: works with external organisations and academic colleagues to facilitate the creation of new research and commercial opportunities. 
• Knowledge Transfer Partnerships: a national program that helps businesses innovate by tapping into academic expertise, enabling industry and universities to work together on key projects.
• Durham University Business School: offers expertise in business development, finance, and management, supporting your organisation’s growth and strategy through academic-business partnerships.
• Careers, Employability and Enterprise Centre: connects your business with students and graduates, providing recruitment services, internships, and opportunities to mentor the next generation of engineers.
• Specific Departmental Consultancy/Service Units: specific groups within the department that offer tailored consultancy and technical services for industry needs.

Research Commercialisation

The commercialisation of our research activity takes many forms, including patent protection, license agreements and collaboration with appropriate industrial partners. The Research Commercialisation team's mission is to disseminate research outcomes via the commercialisation of ideas and new technologies. Technology transfer specialists work closely with individuals and groups across all three faculties.

We have a proven track record for the commercial exploitation of new products, processes and strategies arising from the internationally leading research base. The Research Commercialisation Team's aim is to: 

• Commercialise the outputs of the research activity of the University
• To achieve this through the identification of technologies with commercial potential and to protect, develop and commercialise through sale, licensing business and industry collaboration
• Where appropriate, to take innovative new technologies to the marketplace through spin out vehicles and to nurture and support these early stage ventures
• To maintain a climate in which the exploitation of Intellectual Property generated in the course of research activity is a normal and automatic consideration.