Three partnerships between the University of Strathclyde and businesses have been shortlisted for UK-wide awards.
The projects have been nominated in the Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Best of the Best Awards, which celebrate KTPs, three-way collaborations between business, academic and research teams and qualified graduates, designed to drive innovation for UK businesses and organisations.
The ceremony, themed around the spirit of collaboration, will showcase the most innovative, impactful, and inspiring projects over the past 12 months.
Strathclyde’s nominations are:
· Best Knowledge Transfer Partnership – Declan Bryans, KTP Associate with Strathclyde’s Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, and manufacturing company Mersen UK Holytown
· Engineering Excellence Award – Fraser Stewart, KTP Associate with Strathclyde’s Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, and diver support company Fathom Systems (JFD)
· Konstantinos Tsitsilonis, KTP Associate in Strathclyde’s Department of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Marine Engineering, and manufacturing company Datum Electronics.
The winners will be announced at an online ceremony on 23 September.
Dr Alasdair Cameron, Director of the Strathclyde-hosted West of Scotland KTP Centre, said: “KTPs are at the heart of Strathclydes’s industrial engagement strategy. KTP projects help strengthen the relationships between businesses and a university and often lead to further collaborations.
“The University of Strathclyde has been the KTP partner of choice for over 300 organisations. It has a rich history of working with organisations of all sizes and sectors from across every corner of the UK on innovative projects that deliver impact. We are pleased to see recognition of this commitment to KTPs in these national award nominations.”
The West of Scotland KTP Centre is the largest of its kind in Scotland. It has helped establish more than 450 projects and generated more than £65 million of KTP grants for its partners.
Half of Strathclyde KTPs graded in 2020 were rated outstanding, which is double the UK average.
Dame Ottoline Leyser, CEO of UK Research and Innovation, said: “Innovation is about connecting opportunities to add value with the means to realise them. This involves linking up the UK’s creative, innovative businesses with our exceptional research base. Bringing together the right people, ideas and infrastructures is the key to success, which is exactly what KTPs do.
“These awards are a wonderful celebration of what happens when the right connections are forged. I congratulate all the finalists and look forward to toasting their success.”
Dr Alicia Greated, CEO of KTN, the organisation which manages KTP for Innovate UK said: “The pandemic has thrust science and innovation into the limelight for the past year and a half, and now every vaccination delivered serves as a reminder that humanity can overcome huge challenges when we work together.
“Knowledge Transfer Partnerships are all about working together to solve challenges through innovation. For 46 years these important, symbiotic collaborations between academia, graduates and business have been responsible for creating countless solutions which help make our lives and society better, whilst strengthening our world-class research base and boosting economic growth.
“At KTN we are committed to shaping innovation communities of the future which is exactly what makes these awards so inspiring. Not only are our KTP winners actively bringing research into commercial business environments, but they are also bringing new ways of thinking, diverse experience and varied skill sets together to make a meaningful difference in building a sustainable economy and society.”