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The knowledge exchange can be in direct relation to the PhD or tangential to it. The following points must be observed for all KE agreements:
Bi-directional knowledge exchange: The objective of KE agreements is to generate impact for the organisations that are subject to the agreement, as well as inform and provide value to the student that undertakes this project. It is therefore of key importance that the transfer of knowledge is bi-directional. Knowledge must be transferred from the student to the organisation, and likewise the student must gain useful knowledge and skills from the work. It is of key importance that the student benefits from this exchange.
Evidence: A KE will be approved only if the bi-directional nature of the agreement is clear: The student must be in regular contact with a third party (the organisation) in a way that their interactions are either directly or indirectly impacting the organisation and the student’s interests.
Location: While it is not a requirement that the student is physically located in the organisation during the exchange, it is expected that regular meetings and a direct communication form part of the agreement, supporting direct and tangible knowledge exchange.
Duration: The total duration of KE engagements entered by a student during their iGGi PhD must be of at least the equivalent of two months full-time work. These two months are considered a mandatory and “integral part” of the iGGi training programme (per UKRI Training Grant Terms and Conditions). Therefore, they do not extend the total funded period of 4 years. If the two months are paid then the student will have their stipend stopped for the duration involved and receive this 'missed payment' in their continuation year/writing up year if this is entered. Any time worked on KE agreements in excess of two months should benefit and must not interfere with the timely completion of the PhD. Unless it is of clear and direct benefit to the successful and timely completion of their PhD studies, no KE agreement should exceed the equivalent of 6 months full-time work. Any KE time can be split into several periods and done on a part- or full-time basis.
Payment: KE engagements can be paid or unpaid. If the engagement is unpaid, it should benefit the student's PhD studies and should normally not exceed two months (see above). If the collaboration is paid, it is mandated (per UKRI Training Grant Terms and Conditions) that the student's stipends cease for the period of employment. Any periods of unpaid stipend incurred during a period of paid placement will be recouped during the continuation year/writing up year if this is entered. Time spent on paid KE engagements will count towards the student’s mandated two months of KE engagements as part of their PhD programme.
6. Approval: The PhD supervisor and the local industry liaison must approve the KE project in advance. The local industry liaison must be notified at least 30 business days prior to the planned start of a KE process, using the specified KE proposal form. Shorter notification periods are possible but subject to approval from the local industry liaison. The local industry liaison can elevate any requests to the group of iGGi Industry Liaisons as and when needed.
7. Studentship agreement: The iGGi Student and PhD Supervisor are responsible for identifying and arranging any employment contracts, non-disclosure agreements, intellectual property contracts, data sharing agreements, leaves of absence, and similar that may be required to undertake the KE engagement. Your local iGGi industry liaison can help with identifying the relevant documents, and iGGi will collect useful links and templates over time in the iGGi wiki, but any agreements are ultimately subject to the different rules and approval processes of the individual universities and partners, so we advise students and supervisors to identify the relevant rules and processes early. Either way, some form of written studentship agreement between student and KE partner must be in place before a KE engagement can be initiated, and a digital copy of this agreement must be sent to the local industry liaison. It is not the responsibility of the local industry liaison to ensure a studentship agreement has been agreed on and is in accordance with local university rules.
8. Partner requirements: KE must always occur with a third, non-academic partner, although additional academic partners can be involved. It is also possible for the student to be embedded in any other academic institution (including the iGGi ones) as the KE agreement host, provided that there is a clear collaboration with a further non-academic partner. These collaborations can take the form of established schemes (such as the Knowledge Exchange Partnerships - KEPs) or more relaxed settings in which the company provides the students with assets required for the project (e.g. game data, proprietary software, source code access, use cases, etc).
9. Conflict of interest: To prevent conflicts of interest, non-academic partner organisations must not be owned by any iGGi staff or student, nor should iGGi staff or students be stakeholders of commercial organisations involved in the KE agreement.
10. Liaison visits: The local industry liaison can as and when needed arrange to visit students currently involved in a KE engagement, or in other ways choose to engage, support and monitor an ongoing engagement. PhD supervisors can also be queried for information and feedback as and when needed.
11. Multiple KEs: A student can engage in multiple KEs during their studies, subject to approval by the supervisor and the iGGi industry leads.
12. iCase and other integrated PhD studentships: Where iGGi PhD projects involve a deep and ongoing collaboration with a third, non-academic partner, such as in an industrial CASE studentship, this collaboration normally satisfies the mandatory knowledge transfer component of the iGGi programme. The student and supervisor should contact the local industry liaison for formal confirmation that their integrated PhD project collaboration satisfies the component.
13. Reporting: Following a KE, maximum 30 business days after completion, a KE report form must be submitted to the local industry liaison. This report is approved by the local industry liaison, who can choose to elevate the approval decision to the Group of Industry Liaisons. Accompanying the KE report form must be a letter from the relevant partner which follows the specifications of the partner letter template.
14. Supervision: As researchers are still enrolled at the University whilst on their KE, regular supervision meetings should continue.
15. Completion: Failure to adhere to these guidelines will result in the student not having completed their KE engagement / placement component of their PhD.
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