Warwick expertise aids firm

Warwick University computer science department has helped a company in its own science park increase sales of its scientific imaging products by 230 per cent.

The company, Improvision, partnered the university in a Teaching Company Scheme that was one of seven winners of the 2001 TCS awards announced this week.

Under the scheme, a department places one or more recent graduates with a company that needs academic help to solve a particular problem. The scheme attracts about £60,000 of government funding over two years and the company is expected to contribute at least £28,000. This money goes towards paying the graduates and research expenses. The lead academic is expected to spend half a day a week at the company.

Three-quarters of TCS graduates are offered a job by the company and about half of graduates stay with their host company.

The other winners are: n Umist, whose work with the Central Manchester Healthcare NHS Trust led to savings of £290,000 on pharmaceuticals

* Ulster University, which helped NuPrint Trimmings increase its exports eight-fold with IT systems

* Cardiff University, whose acoustic emission technique has been adopted by the engineering industry to inspect steel bridges

* Durham University, which enabled a local computer services firm to double its turnover and treble its workforce with a strategic marketing plan

* Reading University, which created a common construction language to help WS Atkins gain £1 million in new business

* Brunel University, which worked with Adaptive Biosystems to exploit a global biotechnology and pharmaceutical market for its computer-controlled bioreactors.