Consultancy is defined as the provision of expert advice or services to external clients undertaken by University staff through a contract for payment.Case study: Acoustic analysis
The Centre for Energy and the Environment in the College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences regularly undertake sound transmission tests within buildings such as offices and schools, for both planned and existing buildings.
For schools, aspects of this include calculating the reverberation times in each of the teaching spaces, evaluating the attenuation of sound between teaching spaces and evaluating the external and internal noise levels. The client base for such work is varied, including architecture & design consultants, building contractors, and Government Departments.
The School of Physics uses the Research & Knowledge Transfer Office to ensure a consistent and professional business service irrespective of who the client may be.
Find out more about this project: Case Study: Acoustic Analysis (pdf)
Case study: Specific Requirement Display System
The specification presented to the Exeter Advanced Technologies (X-AT) staff was to design an arrangement of components to display medical and other patient requirements at a hospital bedside. Typically this was to consist of a fixed portion mounted upon existing equipment (i.e. drip stand pole) and interlocking ‘display cards’ featuring internationally recognised symbols of specific requirements to alert staff.
The University, through the Research & Knowledge Transfer Office, has an established working relationship with the NHS. Legal, and contractual elements of the consultancy work were undertaken by RKT allowing Xat staff to focus on the ‘Product Design Specification’. In this way Xat were able to balance the demands of the proposed product against a number of criteria designed to allow nursing staff on the ward to identify if a patient has a specific requirement, easily, quickly and obviously.
