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Sir Brian Fender, chairman of commercialisation company BTG and former chief executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England, is leading an initiative to formalise the knowledge-transfer profession with the establishment of an Institute for Knowledge Transfer.

The Association for 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ Research and Industry Links has submitted a proposal to the Department of Trade and Industry to create a body that will offer accredited training, professional development and qualifications on a par with those in the accountancy and legal sectors.

Universities UK, the DTI and the UK Patent Office are supporting the bid.