Innovation sensation - a year of KTP at Huddersfield

As I make my way to Cardiff, for the esteemed #KTPAwards2023, it seems opportune to reflect on the last 12 months. It’s been an incredible year for Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (#KTP), at The University of Huddersfield , and I think it’s about time we shouted about our successes!

In the last year, our KTP portfolio has increased from 13 to 24 projects, and we have risen to (joint) 6th place in the rankings for the number of KTPs held by university! I don’t know how many years we’ve been just outside of the top 10, so this feels like quite an achievement.

We’ve secured some amazing projects, including:

• An African Agricultural KTP which will see John Allport (School of Computing and Engineering) work in partnership with Kibabii University and Carbon Footprint Ltd, in Kenya to tackle the critical issue of sugarcane production waste.
• Our first KTP for the School of Education and Professional Development where Dimi Kaneva will be working collaboratively with Fresh Futures to co-produce and implement solutions for children and families affected by, or at risk of, parental conflict.
• Our first KTP in Journalism with Impress (The Independent Monitor for the Press). Expanding on Ruth Stoker Dr Ruth Stoker’s research into how ethics is taught and learned in the British press sector, the project will help bridge a significant gap in this area, through the creation of a novel training offer.
• Our fourth KTP with AUS Ltd and Simon Barrans – a strategic partnership that has diversified and continues is grow.
• Plus many more projects, encompassing a variety of disciplines, supporting and enhancing key organisational initiatives such as decarbonisation, sustainability, productivity, design simulation, social housing, artificial intelligence and healthcare product development.

We have welcomed 12 x new KTP Associates, and look forward to welcoming 7 more, in due course (of which 3 appointments are imminent and 4 positions in the recruitment stages). And not forgetting our fantastic, established, Associates - who continue to amaze us with their achievements, as well as the Associates who have completed their projects – all achieving accolades of “Outstanding” or “Very Good”. ?

We were also awarded and implemented seven Accelerated Knowledge Transfer to Innovate (#AKT) pilot projects (working with Trust Electric Heating , Holtex Limited, SimplifAi , Creative Minds, HR Blowers UK Limited, Aware Technologies and The Visual System and Sign Company), many of which have created a pathway for a full KTP.

Additional achievements include the launch of our internal KTP Community of Practice, which now has over 100 members, as well as the award and implementation of our Innovate UK KTP Capacity Building grant. The latter included a fantastic “KTP Yorkshire” showcase event, in partnership with the universities of Leeds, Leeds Beckett, Leeds Trinity, Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam and York.

Of course, none of this is possible without the innovative vision of our business partners, the tenacity of our associates, our dedicated academics and the advocacy of our KTP advisers. And let’s not forget our KTP support team who work tirelessly to ensure everything runs smoothly, from KTP opportunity through to completion (I have tried to acknowledge everyone by naming them below - apologies if there's anyone I have missed!).

So, on to the next 12 months, which I anticipate will be just as fruitful as the last!

We will continue to build new partnerships, nurture relationships and create pathways for KTP through student placements and projects, our AHRC/ESRC/EPSRC Impact Accelerator Accounts, the return of AKT, and other schemes to facilitate collaboration between academia and industry. As we hover around the magic milestone of 25 KTPs, and with more exciting opportunities in the pipeline, I hope there will be lots of chances to celebrate… starting with the KTP Awards where our stalwart KTP academic, Rakesh Mishra is shortlisted for Academic of the Year.

Best of luck to Rakesh and all of this evening’s nominees – watch this space!

(PS - If you want to find out more about working in partnership with the University, please get in touch!)

Frankie Jackson Shona Bettany Jim Bamford Rob Ellis Dr. ERTUgrul Unver Omar Ivan Huerta Cardoso Philip Brown Claire McCamley Professor Parikshit Goswami Thanos Angelis-Dimakis Andrew Hebden Kofi Asare-Addo Adam Bevan Leigh Fleming Karen Ousey Nic Clear Sean Pryor Patricia Tzortzopoulos Sara Biscaya Sulaiman Fadlallah, PhD, FHEA, CEng Nigel Schofield Dr. Naeem. S. Mian Qasim Zeeshan Ahmed Khoa Dang Hoang Simon McKenna Marie-Claire Micuta Nikki Hill Gemma Sweeney Joel Ferguson Ann Storey Andy Barnett Mark Lynch Jonathan Abra Jody Chatterjee Trevor Gregory Shellie O’Connor Catherine McKenzie Helen Curtis Jo Dunkley Fiona Conor Matthew Charlton Jonathan Rex Binder Richard Paxman OBE Patrick Berry Yannis Archbold Nick Garner William Gibson Wayne Matthews Nick Collington Kat Collington Joff Ward Lexie Kirkconnell-Kawana Tanmaya Kale Catherine Campbell Stefan Dransfield Aaron Holt Ruhail Gulzar Francesca Elliott Dorin Cernat Gayathri Kopattil Kemi Gbadebo Quadri Oladipo Arti Chawla Ifraz Ahmed William Turner Preya Kirubakaran, PhD Rizwan Shaik Jasmine Tolson Robert S. Oscar Ifidon Beth Parkes Hassan Kipyegon Langat Alexandra Rysztogi Richard Kirk Liz Rees Kerry Woodhead Kate Langton Kerry Wilkins

KOSO Kent Introl Ltd Pennine Heritage Trust Electric Heating Coterie Connect Paxman Scalp Cooling Together Housing Group PENDLE POLYMER ENGINEERING LIMITED AUS Ltd Puffin Packaging 荷商葛蘭素史克藥廠 Rail Wagon Association Essential Healthcare CorkSol UK Ltd Technical Services Impress Actiform Holtex Holdson O&H Vehicle Conversions ADVANCED ACTUATORS COBURN SLIDING SYSTEMS LIMITED Fresh Futures