The Industrial Mathematics Internship, a joint program run by The Smith Institute and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), was launched at the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) on the 18th of September 2007.

The Internship is a way for companies and university research groups to promote direct knowledge exchange and develop long-term working relationships through engaging a dedicated postgraduate researcher to work on a specific industrial project over a period of 3 to 6 months.

The Smith Institute manages the Knowledge Transfer Network for Industrial Mathematics (KTN) and hopes that the program will inject fresh energy into UK businesses by bringing cutting-edge techniques to business innovation and by developing long-term working relationships between companies and universities.

Each Internship is a collaboration between a host company, an intern, and a research group within a university. Industrialists can improve existing, or develop new, operations through the impact of mathematical expertise. Universities can grow new industrial collaborations and relationships, whilst interns can gain first-hand experience of the business environment.

A pilot phase of the initiative will run between September 2007 and August 2008 and will establish 6 Internships. Each Internship will last between 3 and 6 months and will be supported by one of the KTN's Technology Translators, who will assist in establishing the projects, building the relationships, exploiting follow-on opportunities and disseminating a final case study through the industrial mathematics community.

Dr Tim Bradshaw, Head of Innovation, Science and Technology at the CBI, said, "The Industrial Mathematics Internships programme is an excellent example of how business and universities can collaborate for mutual benefit — helping businesses become more innovative and successful by making effective use of skills and knowledge developed in universities while at the same time providing extremely valuable experience for postgraduate researchers. The critical component is that researchers will work on finding solutions to real business problems, something for which the Smith Institute already has an excellent reputation."

Further details on Industrial Mathematics Internships can be found on the KTN web site.

If you would like to apply for an Internships or simply discuss a project idea, please contact Dr Claudia Centazzo at the Smith Institute.

You can also visit the blog by Trevor Maynard from Lloyd's Exposure Management.

Find out more about the Smith Institute on Plus, in the article Helping business make a crust and the career interview with Claudia Centazzo.