The winners of this year’s Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Awards have been announced, marking the 50th anniversary of the UK’s flagship collaboration programme between businesses, universities, and graduates.
Delivered by Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, this milestone year pays tribute to five decades of partnerships driving innovation, commercial growth, and positive societal change across the UK. The 2025 winners and finalists represent the most inspiring examples of businesses and universities working together to transform ideas into lasting impact.
Winners from this year’s awards include:
African Agriculture KTP Award – Taro-Agric Consulting, Obafemi Awolowo University and University of the West of England
- A pioneering project applying data-enabled innovations and digital technologies to transform broiler chicken production in Southwest Nigeria. By tackling high mortality rates, slow growth, and high production costs, the partnership developed IoT platforms, dashboards and databases to drive efficiency and sustainability. The result has been a step change in performance and profitability, alongside strengthened institutional capacity for data-driven innovation across poultry value chains.
Best KTP Award– Yeo Valley Farms (Production) Ltd and University of Reading
- Yeo Valley demonstrated how its partnership with the University has transformed yoghurt production through advanced process innovations. By modelling milk protein denaturation and gel formation, the collaboration doubled expected milk utilisation, improved product structure, and strengthened both financial and environmental sustainability. The initiative also enriched university teaching, expanded placement and graduate opportunities, and accelerated career progression for those involved.
Changing the World Award – Dunsters Farm Limited and Manchester Metropolitan University
- A family-run food service business has demonstrated how its innovation initiative has transformed sustainability and social value delivery. By embedding strategy, social value in tenders, and data-driven decision making, the project has delivered a six-year contract worth over £40 million and generated significant social impact. The scale and commercial success of the initiative have positioned it as a blueprint for long-term sustainable and profitable business practice.
Richard Lamb, KTP Programme Manager at Innovate UK, comments: “Year after year, projects within our KTP programme exceed our expectations, delivering significant impact, advancing knowledge and driving growth. The diverse range of projects and people showcased through the KTP Awards is truly inspiring and it demonstrates that after 50 years, the programme remains as relevant as ever. 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 introduction of the Golden KTP Awards, a special recognition of projects and people whose contributions continue to influence innovation practice and collaboration across five decades.
Richard continues: “After more than 14,000 partnerships and £2.3 billion in value creation, KTP remains at the heart of the UK’s mission to drive productivity, resilience, and sustainable industrial growth through collaboration between business and academia.”
Find out more about Innovate UK’s KTP programme.
The full list of the winners:
- Best African Agriculture KTP Project Award
Taro Agric Farm (TAF) – University of the West of England, Bristol and Obafemi Awolowo University - Best Knowledge Base KTP Support Team Award
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 Award
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 Award
TNEI Services Limited – Glasgow Caledonian University - Technical Excellence Award
Soapworks Ltd – University of Glasgow - Business Transformation Award
Detoxpeople Ltd – Anglia Ruskin University Higher Education Corporation