Fully-funded digital projects
Applications for the Digital Advisor project are now closed
For information on other ways that Keele University can support your business, visit keele.ac.uk/gateway or contact the Keele Gateway team on gateway@keele.ac.uk.
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Our Digital Advisor projects provide eligible businesses with the opportunity to engage with Keele students and graduates on a variety of digital projects, tailored to fit the needs of your organisation.
They are a great way to increase capacity within your team, introduce a fresh perspective to a project, and bring new skills into your business.
How the project works
A talented Keele student or graduate will work as an Advisor within your organisation for a duration of 40-hours.
Offering an array of digital skills from social media support and market trend analysis to website development and artificial intelligence. View our glossary of skills for inspiration.
The Digital Advisor team work to match an Advisor to your organisation’s bespoke project.
Exclusively open to small-to-medium sized businesses (SMEs) in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire who are predominantly B2B.
"We were really impressed with our Keele Digital Advisor experience which accelerated the delivery of our Q3 marketing strategy. Our Digital Advisor generated a number of excellent articles that will be going live on the website over the next month."
"The programme is very worthwhile. Finding your way in the digital world can be daunting, even when you work in it. Having a fresh voice and perspective on issues is very beneficial to my business."
"The Digital Advisor project is a fantastic opportunity to work with talented people who are able to analyse and advise in an area where you need help and support. It was a pleasure working with Alicia and I am really impressed and very grateful for the analysis work, help and advice she has given me, something that, as a sole trader, I was struggling to find the time and resource to complete."
The Digital Advisor projects are part-funded through a suite of funders including the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), so there is no cost to eligible businesses.
The funding means that only eligible businesses can participate in a project. The criteria is listed below. If you're not sure if your business eligible, please get in touch and we will work with you to check.
Eligibility Criteria
The business must:
- be predominantly business-to-business (B2B) sales;
- have fewer than 250 employees;
- have a turnover less than 50m euros or balance sheet less than 43m euros;
- be registered in the Stoke-on-Trent or Staffordshire area.
- Unfortunately, certain sectors are ineligible. Examples include finance, business-to-consumer (B2C), retail, agriculture and fisheries, housing and education, please do get in touch to check if your business is eligible.
Once your application has been approved, we will match you directly to an Advisor using our Talent Pool Database. You will receive their CV and have an informal chat to ensure all is well to proceed with the 40-hour opportunity. Once confirmed there is a two-week turnround to start the project.
Most projects are carried out virtually. We handover to the Advisor and business and ask for a minimum of five hours of work per week, and for the project to last no longer than two months. Both parties must catch up each week to stay on track.
Business Engagement Manager, Philippa Richardson, supports all businesses through the process and Programme Manager, Julia Molyneux, supports the Advisors.
Innovation Centre 7 and its associated programmes are part-funded through a suite of funders including the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) (as part of the England 2014-2020 European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) Growth Programme), the Research England Development Fund, and UK Government funding through the Getting Building Fund.
