Innovate UK’s Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) programme is marking 50 years of fostering innovation and collaboration between UK businesses, universities, and graduates.

Since its launch in 1975, the KTP programme has supported over 14,000 transformative projects across the UK and generated billions to the economy. Approximately 11,000 of these projects have been with SMEs. From 2010 to 2020 alone, Innovate UK invested £200m in 2,000 projects, adding £2.3bn to the UK economy.

At its core, the KTP Programme enables partnerships between three participants: UK businesses seeking to bring new ideas to life, academic institutions equipped to solve complex challenges, and graduates who drive these innovative projects forward. The programme brings businesses and academics together to solve real world challenges.

This unique collaborative model has added billions to the UK economy, boosting productivity, turnover, and economic resilience for participating businesses and creating a ripple effect across industries.

Iconic KTP projects include:

• Baxters Food Group which improved its food waste and wastewater management system following KTP.
• Yeo Valley which made significant improvements in the efficiency of their yoghurt manufacturing process and increased environmental sustainability as a result of KTP.
• Siemens collaborated with KTP to better understand the degradation of different battery technologies resulting in the KTP team producing the first software prototypes for managing charging processes within electrical vehicle depots.
• The Finishing Line, a supply chain specialist offering E-commerce fulfilment, warehouse management, contract packing solutions, and returns management, which used KTP to maximise overall efficiency of its fulfilment and distribution centres.
• James Leckey Design, which manufactures mobility and postural aids, used KTP to integrate the latest sensory technologies into existing Leckey products to improve the clinical outcomes for children using the products.

All these innovative solutions have generated positive economic, social, and environmental impacts directly attributable to the KTP programme.

Dr Tim Hughes, Global Product Lifecycle Manager at Siemens, said: “The KTP has been the best experience I have had of a collaboration programme with academia. This was a hugely positive experience for Siemens. Interfacing with the university in this way was very innovative and provided new perspectives on our product development.”

Over the past five decades, KTP has supported 14,000 projects, delivering an estimated £5.50 in economic benefits for every £1 invested. Today, the programme includes approximately 800 businesses and 100 academic institutions, all supported by a dedicated team of 35 Knowledge Transfer Advisors working across the length and breadth of the UK.

The programme’s national reach is significant, with 75% of business partners and 68% of academic partners located outside London and the Greater Southeast, bringing innovative opportunities to regions across the UK. Through this broad presence, KTP plays a critical role in levelling the playing field for businesses in varied locations, driving regional growth alongside national advancement.

In its infancy, it was called the Teaching Company Scheme but has grown to be known as KTP and serve a wide range of sectors, with 80% focused on STEM disciplines, as well as emerging areas like AI, quantum technology, manufacturing, and the creative industries—underlining KTP’s importance in a rapidly evolving economy.

Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation, Lord Vallance, said: “Knowledge Transfer Partnerships have long supported collaboration between our renowned universities, UK innovators and thriving businesses – from helping household brands to produce their goods more efficiently through to unleashing new discoveries that improve lives.

They also demonstrate the benefit of public investment, with ambitious, Innovate-UK-backed projects across the country having added billions of pounds to our economy in the previous decade alone. I look forward to these partnerships supporting the next generation of cutting-edge innovations.”

Dr Stella Peace, Interim Executive Chair, Innovate UK commented: “Knowledge Transfer Partnerships solve business challenges by turning cutting-edge research into real-world solutions that drive growth, nurture talent, and benefit society. For 50 years, they’ve advanced healthcare, sustainability, and public services, creating opportunities and transforming lives across the UK and beyond. We’re proud to be celebrating this milestone together.”

Richard Lamb, KTP Programme Manager, commented: “Celebrating 50 years of the Knowledge Transfer Partnerships programme offers a valuable opportunity to recognise its enduring impact on UK innovation and economic resilience. 

By bridging academia and industry, KTP has extended vital opportunities to businesses and academic partners across the UK, reaching beyond London and the Southeast to drive innovation in fields ranging from STEM to the creative industries and pioneering areas like AI and quantum technology.

This collaborative model has not only boosted productivity and growth but has empowered organisations of all sizes to innovate and thrive on a local and national scale. This 50th anniversary is the perfect occasion to reflect on the impressive impact achieved through the programme and its lasting legacy.”

The achievements of the latest projects will be celebrated at the prestigious KTP Awards Ceremony in October.