Innovate UK has announced the winners of the 2025 Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Awards, celebrating the 50th anniversary of one of Britain’s longest-running and most successful innovation programmes.
Delivered by Innovate UK, the UK’s national innovation agency, the milestone event recognised half a century of collaboration between businesses, universities and graduates, highlighting projects that have driven productivity, sustainability and commercial impact across every corner of the economy.
This year’s winners were praised for their exceptional contributions to scientific progress, digital transformation and social value creation, embodying the enduring mission of KTP to turn cutting-edge research into real-world results.
The African Agriculture KTP Award went to Taro-Agric Consulting, in partnership with Obafemi Awolowo University and the University of the West of England, for pioneering data-enabled innovation in Nigeria’s poultry industry. The collaboration used IoT platforms, dashboards and databases to tackle production inefficiencies, cutting mortality rates and costs while boosting profitability and institutional capacity for digital agriculture.
The Best KTP Award was awarded to Yeo Valley Farms (Production) Ltd and the University of Reading, whose partnership transformed yoghurt production through process modelling and protein science. By advancing milk protein denaturation and gel formation research, the project doubled milk utilisation, improved product texture, and delivered both financial and environmental gains — while enriching teaching and graduate opportunities.
The Changing the World Award went to Dunsters Farm Limited and Manchester Metropolitan University, a family-run food service business recognised for embedding sustainability, social value, and data-driven decision-making into its operations. The initiative secured a six-year, £40 million contract, positioning Dunsters Farm as a model for socially responsible, profitable business growth.
Richard Lamb, KTP Programme Manager at Innovate UK, praised this year’s cohort as evidence that the initiative remains “as relevant as ever.”
“Year after year, projects within our KTP programme exceed expectations, delivering significant impact, advancing knowledge and driving growth,” Lamb said. “After 50 years, KTP continues to attract businesses eager to grow, academics passionate about solving real-world challenges, and the brightest graduate minds from across the globe.”
This year also saw the debut of the Golden KTP Awards, honouring individuals and projects whose influence has shaped innovation practice and collaboration throughout the programme’s history.
Since its inception, the KTP initiative has supported over 14,000 partnerships, generating an estimated £2.3 billion in value creation and establishing itself as a cornerstone of the UK’s innovation landscape.
“KTP remains at the heart of the UK’s mission to drive productivity, resilience, and sustainable industrial growth through collaboration between business and academia,” Lamb added.
2025 Innovate UK KTP Award winners
- Best African Agriculture KTP Project: Taro-Agric Farm (TAF) – University of the West of England, Bristol and Obafemi Awolowo University
- Best Knowledge Base KTP Support Team: The University of Essex
- Best Knowledge Transfer Partnership Award: Yeo Valley Farms (Production) Ltd – University of Reading
- Changing the World Award: Dunsters Farm Limited – Manchester Metropolitan University
- Future Leader Awards:
Ashtead Engineering Company Ltd – Kingston University
Dr Simeon Skopalik – Soapworks Ltd / University of Glasgow
Ray Holder – Smartify Holdings Limited / University of the West of Scotland
Shay McEvoy – AB Pneumatics Ltd / Queen’s University Belfast
Renato Software Ltd – Birmingham City University
- KTP Academic of the Year: TNEI Services Limited – Glasgow Caledonian University
- Technical Excellence Award: Soapworks Ltd – University of Glasgow
- Business Transformation Award: Detoxpeople Ltd – Anglia Ruskin University
As Innovate UK celebrates the golden jubilee of its flagship programme, the KTP Awards 2025 reaffirm the UK’s global leadership in industry–academic collaboration.
From AI-driven agriculture to low-carbon food manufacturing, the winning partnerships demonstrate how innovation thrives when business insight meets academic excellence — a formula that has delivered impact for five decades, and looks set to shape the next generation of British enterprise.
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Innovate UK celebrates 50 years of collaboration as winners announced at 2025 KTP Awards