Warwick University computer science department has helped a company in its own science park increase sales of its scientific imaging products by 230 per cent.

The company, Improvision, partnered the university in a Teaching Company Scheme that was one of seven winners of the 2001 TCS awards announced this week.

Under the scheme, a department places one or more recent graduates with a company that needs academic help to solve a particular problem. The scheme attracts about ?60,000 of government funding over two years and the company is expected to contribute at least ?28,000. This money goes towards paying the graduates and research expenses. The lead academic is expected to spend half a day a week at the company.

Three-quarters of TCS graduates are offered a job by the company and about half of graduates stay with their host company.

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The other winners are: n Umist, whose work with the Central Manchester Healthcare NHS Trust led to savings of ?290,000 on pharmaceuticals

* Ulster University, which helped NuPrint Trimmings increase its exports eight-fold with IT systems

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* Cardiff University, whose acoustic emission technique has been adopted by the engineering industry to inspect steel bridges

* Durham University, which enabled a local computer services firm to double its turnover and treble its workforce with a strategic marketing plan

* Reading University, which created a common construction language to help WS Atkins gain ?1 million in new business

* Brunel University, which worked with Adaptive Biosystems to exploit a global biotechnology and pharmaceutical market for its computer-controlled bioreactors.

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