Pennine Heritage Launches Knowledge Transfer Partnership with the University of Huddersfield

In November 2021 Pennine Heritage began an exciting new partnership with the University of Huddersfield, and appointed our new Heritage Manager through Innovate UK’s Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) scheme. As a KTP Associate, our Heritage Manager will help develop a lasting relationship between Pennine Heritage and the university, giving us access to cutting-edge research, and providing students and academics with public engagement opportunities. In the first few months of our partnership, this has already led to promising collaboration opportunities with academics at the University of Huddersfield, and new ideas for how we can better use our resources to serve the community. The partnership will greatly increase our capacity to stage events, exhibitions, and public programming, while helping to secure our long-term future.

Our new Heritage Manager, Dr Francesca Elliott, has recently completed a PhD at the University of Manchester, in collaboration with the Science and Industry Museum, and has considerable experience in the museums and public history sector. This combination of academic and public history experience will provide the range of skills needed to make the most out of our new partnership, and ensure that we are offering a range of sustainable initiatives.

Our academic partner in the Knowledge Transfer Partnership is Dr Rob Ellis, a Senior Lecturer in History who specialises in the history of mental illness and mental health care. Rob has extensive experience in running collaborative public history projects with heritage organisations, and is helping us forge valuable connections with academics and improve our educational offering.