Advances in technology, such as artificial intelligence, bring real opportunities for businesses and the way they interact with their customers.聽聽
When Poole-based marine electronic firm wanted to improve and automate their customer service, they came to 裸聊直播 for support.聽聽
The result was a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP), led by Professor Chris Chapleo from 裸聊直播鈥檚 Business School and Dr Vegard Engen, Deputy Head of Department for Computing and Informatics 鈥� bringing together their collective expertise to support Actisense in creating a chatbot to enhance their service and sales.聽聽
鈥淭hey were interested in artificial intelligence and the role that that could play in improving and automating their customer service, particularly via a chatbot,鈥� said Professor Chapleo, a brand and marketing expert.聽聽
鈥淏ut much more than that, it could also lead to an uplift in sales and customer retention鈥� so people could ask about problems or challenges they were having or what they might need to do in a certain situation and be advised to buy a related product.聽聽
鈥淪o there was the potential for cross-selling and upselling as well as the customer service function that could be partly automated.鈥澛犅�
Together, 裸聊直播 and Actisense successfully applied for funding from the government, via , to undertake the KTP, which started in February 2020.聽聽
A KTP Associate, Nimit Khanna, who had expertise in machine learning and AI, was appointed to support the project. Nimit was embedded in Actisense but managed by 裸聊直播, with guidance and support from Professor Chapleo and Dr Engen.聽聽
While Professor Chapleo advised around the marketing and customer elements of the project, Dr Engen supported with the technical aspects of embedding artificial intelligence to create a solution that would provide the business with 24/7 support.聽聽
Dr Vegard Engen
Deputy Head of Department for Computing and Informatics
Taking part in a KTP gives businesses the opportunity to go beyond what鈥檚 currently available and to do something that's really bespoke, as well in a cost-effective manner.
Participating in a KTP means that businesses can tap into the collective knowledge and resources of a university, as well as the latest research and insight.聽聽
Dr Engen said: 鈥淩esearch should be on the cutting edge - and if you had a consultant in for this kind of project, they would typically apply existing technologies rather than working on advancing that state-of-the-art.聽
鈥淭aking part in a KTP gives businesses the opportunity to go beyond what鈥檚 currently available and to do something that's really bespoke, as well in a cost-effective manner.鈥澛犅�
Professor Chapleo added: 鈥淭he beauty of a KTP is that it brings together the strengths of the university, with our academic disciplines complementing each other. As well as the highly skilled KTP associate, the company gets to tap into the university鈥檚 collective resources and expertise.鈥澛犅�
Alongside implementing the chatbot, the two-year project also helped create a strategic marketing plan and processes to make it as easy as possible for Actisense to be able to maintain and update the chatbot going forward.聽聽
鈥淲here KTPs are funded and are seen as really valuable is where there's particular knowledge or expertise that is embedded in the company and allows them to have a step change in operations,鈥� explained Professor Chapleo.聽聽
鈥淚t's about embedding change that will allow them to produce more revenue, more profit, employ more people - that's ultimately what the government want.鈥澛�
Robin Richards, Technical Project Manager at Actisense, said: 鈥淭he KTP enabled us to access skills through the associate that we wouldn鈥檛 normally have been able to afford to enhance our business systems. It has helped us grow an ongoing and mutually beneficial relationship with 裸聊直播.鈥澛�
As well as benefits for the business, the academic team also saw value in the project. They are currently working on academic outputs associated with the KTP, based on interviews with users of the chatbot after it launched.聽聽
鈥淚 am very passionate about applied research and doing things that will directly benefit somebody 鈥� whether that's a company or an individual or thousands of people,鈥� said Dr Engen.聽聽
鈥淭his project also allowed me, as an academic, to get more of an insight into this particular business and industry, as well as the cross-disciplinary nature of working across the university with the marketing and business aspects.鈥澛�
Professor Chapleo added: 鈥淚t helped to keep my marketing and business skills fresh because you're actually working with a real SME. It also helps with our teaching and our education because we can share current examples.聽聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 fusion in action really; it鈥檚 working with businesses on real-world issues but also links into our research and education.鈥澛� 聽
What is a Knowledge Transfer Partnership?聽
(KTPs)鈥� are a government-funded scheme to share university knowledge with UK businesses. These partnerships allow organisations to recruit a 鈥痝raduate associate鈥痑nd access specific skills and academic expertise to improve business processes and performance.聽聽
KTPs can last between 12 months and three years and often lead to lasting partnerships.聽聽