This is fascinating, but I am suspecting there's something missing in the description. How is Reading involved? Does the position involve using students to do the work?

Regards,

T

Indeed this is an abbreviated description. No students are involved, although I suspect that graduates may apply.

The scheme is part-funded by the company, part by the UK Technology Transfer Board. The University employs the designer, who gets seconded to the company, and provides the academics' time for contribution. The day-to-day reality looks very much like the person is employed by the company, but with close contribution by the academics involved.

The objective is to enable companies to capitalise on expertise in UK universities for strategic benefits. The scheme has been very successful, but this is the first such project focused on typography (full details here).

Can you please put this into plain English, Gerry? What are they wanting to do & achieve?

(I was inoculated for corporate-speak as a child. This sort of writing is like a foreign language to me.)

—K

Kris, if you need it in plain English, fuggedaboudit :-)

"I was inoculated for corporate-speak as a child."

I hope you also got the Government speak and Academia Speak booster shots as well, Kris :-)

ChrisL

It seems pretty clear to me: taxpayers give money to the government, the goverment gives money to the University of Reading, Reading gives money to a type designer, who goes to work at Monotype, and folk in the typography department at Reading provide input and advice on the work...

All with the aim of teaching Monotype how to make digital versions of their old typefaces that don't look like crap. One might say that it's about time.

I wonder though why taxpayers have to pay for that instead of Monotype shareholders...

From here:

How are KTPs funded?

Each KTP is part funded by a Government grant to the University. This contributes to the costs it incurs through participating in that particular Knowledge Transfer Partnership, whilst the balance of the costs directly attributable to the project is borne by the business partner.

Thanks for the clarification.

What's the ballpark salary?

—K

"I wonder though why taxpayers have to pay for that instead of Monotype shareholders..."

One benefit might be that the insights on how to "make digital versions that don't look like crap" doesn't end up exclusively with monotype but rather within the research community and thus usable (and improvable) by others.