Congratulations to Juliette Farrell, KTP Associate from University of Strathclyde, who won the 2022 Innovators of the Future Award at Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards on Thursday 17 March. 

Juliette Farrell is a KTP Associate from the University of Strathclyde, who collaborated with Elite Contract Furniture came away with the award for her work embedding new tools and methodologies into the business, including rebranding and developing an e-commerce site for a new product, allowing them to sell online for the first time in 68 years.

Now in its seventh year, the Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards celebrate the exceptional work achieved through academics and businesses, third sector or other end users.

The awards cover eight categories – from businesses, social enterprises, public sector organisations, third sector, universities, research institutes, innovation centres and colleges that, through knowledge exchange, are leading the way towards economic growth, societal improvements and environmental advances in Scotland and beyond.

KTP Associates reflect the exceptional role that the Knowledge Transfer Partnership programme has in developing leadership and talent in innovation. KTPs are an integral part of that ecosystem within Scotland, with an average of 100 projects live at any one time. We’re delighted that this has been reflected in the recent success of KTP Associates in the Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards.

In attendance at the Awards, Ivan McKee, Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise, commented: 

“I would like to congratulate the winners today for showing the ingenuity, industry and creativity that is essential in achieving success.

“Scotland has world-class universities, with businesses looking to draw on that knowledge to develop, test and research new products, processes and services. By bringing the two partners together, we can solve some of our biggest challenges, such as driving recovery from COVID-19, supporting the transition to net zero and delivering inclusive growth.”

Laura Goodfellow, Interim Director, Interface, added: 

“I am delighted that the appetite for businesses to partner with academics shows no signs of decreasing; if anything, the last two years have brought more ideas to the fore and driven an upturn in the number of companies and organisations Interface has supported.”

I was really thrilled to win the award. It is always so fascinating attending these events and seeing the diversity of knowledge exchange work taking place across Scotland, so to have my work selected was excellent.

 My time in the KTP programme has given me opportunities for further training and professional development that I couldn’t have dreamed of. The KTP structure has also helped me develop so much as a leader and project manager, pushing me out of my comfort zone and helping me take risks all within the supportive partnership environment.”

Gerry Black, who is the KTP Adviser for the Innovator of the Future Winner, commented: 

“Juliette has done a great job in helping the company diversify into a new product range with new design processes, new materials and new sales channels.  The quality of her leadership and the enhancement in her own skills make her a worthy winner.

Juliette has done a great job in helping the company diversify into a new product range with new design processes, new materials and new sales channels.  The quality of her leadership and the enhancement in her own skills make her a worthy winner.”

About KTPs

KTPs are funded by UKRI through Innovate UK with the support of co-funders, including the Scottish Funding Council, Welsh Government, Invest Northern Ireland, Defra and BEIS. Innovate UK manages the KTP programme and facilitates its delivery through a range of partners including Innovate KTN, Knowledge Bases and Businesses. Each partner plays a specific role in the support and delivery of the programme.

If you have an innovative business idea and would like to see if a KTP could help take it forward,  get in touch.