Ian Heywood

As the Knowledge Transfer Adviser for the North of Scotland, I am responsible for developing and managing a portfolio of successful Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) between businesses and academia.

The Knowledge Transfer Partnerships support businesses to engage with expert academic teams on a project-based collaboration delivering sustainable innovation with positive economic impact and additional societal or environmental benefits. I have extensive economic development, business strategy, innovation and executive development experience and have held senior leadership positions in the private, public and academic sectors.

I have a special interest in location-based technology and disruptive business models. I have been awarded a number of professional recognitions, including Fellow of Institute of Training and Operational Learning and UNIGIS Fellow for my work in the GIS field. In 2002, in recognition of my pioneering work in the field of e-learning, I was awarded a Visiting Professorship in e-Learning at Abertay University. I am often invited to contribute to academic and corporate education programmes and have been a visiting lecturer at The University of Aberdeen Business School, Salzburg University and the Free University of Amsterdam.

My previous positions include MBA Programme Director at the University of Aberdeen Business School; Director and founder of The Ideas Academy Ltd, which specialised in helping organisations use their internal expertise to generate, resource and deliver new business ideas; Director of Growing Business and Skills with Scottish Enterprise Grampian, where I had leadership responsibility for the organisation’s portfolio of 300 high growth companies; Director of Learning with BusinessLab Ltd, a pioneering open innovation company; and Director of Open and Distance Learning at the Robert Gordon University.

In my current role, I am the Knowledge Transfer Adviser for The University of Aberdeen; The University of the Highlands and Islands; Robert Gordon University; and The Rowett Institute.