Dr Andy Jones Dr Andy Jones is Assistant Director of the Merseyside KTP Centre, based at the University of Liverpool. Over the last 6 years he has been responsible for a significant expansion in the number of innovation grants awarded to link the University with SME's both on Merseyside and elsewhere. This has attracted well over £4.5m in grant income and SME development funding. He has a wide and established network of contacts in the SME community in sectors ranging from biotechnology and the food industry through to electronics, precision engineering and the chemicals industry. He is also actively engaged in a number of new knowledge-based initiatives designed to improve the interface between the University and the business world. Andy Jones took his first and second degrees at the University of Cambridge. He is a metallurgist with over 60 publications and 20 years experience in developing advanced materials for the energy, aerospace and power generation industries. He continues his research by leading a small team of postdoctoral researchers based in the Materials Division at the University. He has coordinated and project managed number of large, technology based projects in the past and has previously held research positions at the University of Cambridge, Risoe National Laboratory Denmark and TWI and, as a manager, spent 12 years leading high-technology service and product based business departments within AEA Technology.