These partners range from SMEs to large companies, social enterprises and public bodies, including Tenovus Cancer Care, Natural Resources Wales, Tata Steel, S4C, National Botanic Garden of Wales, Mencap Cymru, Halen Môn, Qioptiq Ltd., P&S Nano Ltd. and the Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay.

SMEs taking advantage of a KESS 2 project benefit from being able to focus skills towards a research area related to their business at a significantly lower cost than, for example, commissioning a research organisation to undertake such work. 

Successful projects so far have included:

  • A partnership between a PhD student at Bangor University and the Savari Research Trust, developing a range of fungus-resistant tomatoes optimised for the Northern European climate
  • A University of South Wales PhD student working in RUMM (Remote Utility Monitoring and Management) as a low carbon psychologist, identifying energy saving interventions based on behaviour change for large companies
  • A collaborative partnership between the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority and Swansea University, involving a PhD student researching the rate of continuing carbon deposition and exchange in peat bogs – an area of conservation research of increasing importance