Future Innovator finalist deploys AI and leadership skills to help create dynamic e-learning enterprise.

KTP Associate Dr  Blessing Mbipom

Company Red Whale (GP Update)

University University of Reading

Funding Innovate UK

The Project: Keeping doctors at the forefront of knowledge and the latest techniques is of utmost importance; however a General Medical Council (GMC) Survey answered by more than 75,000 doctors revealed that those who act as trainers have to fit this role around their daily duties working as consultants or GPs. GP Update (rebranded as a result of the KTP to Red Whale) aimed to respond to this need for high quality and engaging training delivery available anytime, anywhere.

Recognising a gap in their expertise to deliver this enhanced online training package, GP Update entered a KTP with a specialist team at University of Reading to:

• Develop an online training strategy, responsive to clients’ needs, adaptive to breakthroughs in medical practices, and available 24/7 
• Embed this strategy into the business models enabling Red Whale to expand its offerings at a fraction of the costs involved with face to face courses 
• Create a platform to deliver state-of-the-art and state-of-the-practice training in medicine, across a range of devices, accessible at any time from anywhere. 

About the Future Innovator: Dr Blessing Mbipom

With a PhD in Artificial Intelligence, Blessing has helped transform the company from a successful but restricted Face to Face (F2F) CPD training provider for GPs to an e-learning enterprise providing blended, flexible and up to date CPD training to multidisciplinary teams of medical professionals. It has resulted in high levels of engagement and learning effectiveness, for example as a result of the cancer course

• 81% of attendees said they were able to change their practice
• 79% were inspired to carry out related audits
• 56% carried out further learning using the material and digital resources provided.

Blessing is a role model to BAME students across the university; has interacted with/mentored biomedical engineering/computer science/education students and in the wider community as a STEM Ambassador; she is a member of the local BCS Committee and an inspiring ‘Woman in Technology’, encouraging female Year 10 -12 school students to take-up computer-based careers.

• Blessing took project responsibility from the start, coordinating the technical work and leading project meetings to deliver market driven, evidence based work completed on time.
• Leadership skills evidenced through successful completion of the Springboard Women’s Development Programme and through winning a place on the highly competitive Advance HE’s Aurora Leadership Development Initiative for Women. 
• Effective content delivery: ‘chaptered’ webinars include Quick Dips and Deep Dives with links to digital resources to download for further reference
• Project shortlisted for the prestigious Learning Performance Institute’s Digital Learning Transformation Awards
• Won ON24’s Annual “Webinars that Rocked” Award beating 127 entries from across the world including those from large corporates such as SAP/HP Enterprise/Thomson Reuters. 
• Blessing has attended technical conferences/workshops including a hands-on Data Science Bootcamp in Barcelona and the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education in Chicago where she presented a poster. 

Commenting on being shortlisted, Blessing said “I am grateful and honoured to be shortlisted as a finalist in the KTP awards, which recognises the impact made from the collaboration between academia and industry“.

Winners of this category will be announced in advance of the KTP Virtual Awards Ceremony which is at 4-5pm on Wednesday 9 September. Join us in our virtual world to celebrate all the winners – register here.

See below for a profile of each of the 18 finalists in the Future Innovator category of this year’s KTP Best of the Best Awards:

Muddasar Anwar  Delivering innovation for Sustainable Drainage System to prevent flooding.

Blessing Mbipom Creating online learning for GPs.

Laurence Foster: Innovations to “print” structures, transforming house building.

Declan Bryans: Creating greener energy with innovations in flow batteries.

Elle Perschke: Applying B2C methodologies to launch a new product within a B2B company.

Mark Gilmore: Development of new class of greener ionic liquid, with multiple potential applications.

Khai Nguyen: Inventing a new silicone composite for consumer fixing brand, Sugru.

Swapnil Khadke: Creating new liposome formulations for application in drug delivery

Leona McGirr: Creating an Antibody Library for fully human antibodies.

Dan Hicks: Developing a new design and testing process for electric trails bikes.

Dmitry Bogachov: Advancing Materials Science for Anilox technology.

Andrew Grounds: Transforming business models for Social Enterprise.

Lyndsey McKirdy: Enhancing data science capability at Aggreko.

Jack Tallant: Transforming reporting and delivery of Charity’s activities.

Xi Liu: Using AI to develop fraud detection and prevention services for law firm.

Alex Komninos: Transforming spreadsheets in to cognitive models at IBM

Harvey Kangley: Delivering exceptional NPD for rail electrification

George Harris: Developing advanced engineering for intruder detection systems.

The Future Innovator category of the KTP Awards is supported by Ashorne Hill – a specialist training company which runs training programmes for all KTP Associates.

Want to find out more about working as a KTP Associate? More information here, and see the latest vacancies here.