Former KTP Associate is Motive-ated to drive Scotland’s energy transition

Earlier this week, the finalists were revealed for the Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards 2023, the annual celebration of business-academic partnerships hosted by Interface. We are delighted that former KTP Associate Edward Blissitt is shortlisted for the Innovator of the Future award, for his work on the KTP between University of Aberdeen and Motive Offshore Group Ltd .

With funding from Innovate UK and the Scottish Funding Council , Motive Offshore Group, a specialist in marine equipment fabrication and rental for the back-deck and beyond, partnered with the University of Aberdeen on a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) project to develop new data capturing and analysis techniques to digitalise both its processes and equipment. The result was the development of a novel SmartWinch technology that integrated sensors and IT hardware into Motive's existing equipment.

The data generated during the use of the SmartWinch technology has allowed Motive to gain greater insights into what its equipment is doing, making operations more efficient and effective, while also offering a new service and conditioning monitoring product for clients.

One of the main challenges that Ed was able to overcome in introducing transformational technologies was the adaptation of Motive’s working practices. It was essential to engage the workforce and communicate both the intentions and benefits of the technological innovation to stakeholders at the outset, and how it would affect their daily work and service delivery.

In addition to the academic supervision provided by Dr Andrew Starkey on the engineering and technical aspects of the KTP, Dr Karen Bilsland from the Business School supervised and facilitated the change management activities in the organisation, emphasising the importance of employee involvement in this process, to ensure the smooth integration of the new technologies and drive engagement. The project was the first KTP collaboration between academics from the university’s School of Engineering and Business School.

The project finished in September 2022 and was awarded an Outstanding grade by Innovate UK’s KTP Programme team - the highest possible grade for a KTP project. Ed has subsequently been taken by Motive as their Head of R&D and will shortly assume the role of Company Supervisor on the company’s second KTP project. He recently wrote about his experience in an article published in The Scotsman.

The whole North of Scotland KTP Centre team would like to congratulate Ed on making the shortlist for the Innovator of the Future award, and wish him all the very best to luck at the award ceremony on March 23rd!