AN ACOUSTIC product manufacturing company is to benefit from the expertise at BCUC (Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College) as part of a DTI funded initiative.

The two-year initiative known as Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) is aimed towards new product and business process development and specifically at small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Under the £80,000 DTI business development grant for Soundsorba and BCUC, the college will employ a graduate or postgraduate student who will work exclusively with Soundsorba to develop their products and business systems.

Soundsorba in Shaftesbury Street, High Wycombe, is a specialist acoustic engineering company. Clients include the BBC, Sky TV, Jaguar Cars and the National Health Service.

Graduates may be from any institution in the UK or abroad and the KPT projects attract approx 60 per cent funding from the DTI.

The project is designed and guided by both parties with a regional consultant ensuring that all parties remain on track. BCUC appoints a lead academic who is responsible for project management and line management of the graduate.

Interviews are currently taking place and candidates will be selected by a panel made up of university and company representatives.

Munir Hussain, managing director of Soundsorba, said: "We are interviewing at the moment people who have manufacturing and design expertise and who can look at our manufacturing and how our products are designed and make changes to provide added value opportunities."

SME companies interested in finding out more about KTP can contact Andrew Fox in the first instance at the Faculty of Design at BCUC on 01494 522141 or via email at afox01@bcuc.ac.uk