Mike Lloyd

I am the Knowledge Transfer Adviser for the East of England, responsible for developing and managing a portfolio of successful Knowledge Transfer Partnerships between businesses and academia.

The Knowledge Transfer Partnerships programme promotes business led, open innovation by connecting companies with academic expertise to enable them to grow their business. I look after businesses supporting their projects with knowledge bases in many parts of the country. I also maintain relationships with several designated universities in relation to their participation in the programme.

I am a chemist by training, with a B.Sc. (Hons.) in Applied Chemistry and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry, both from Aston University. After graduation, I spent three years working as a postdoctoral research fellow within the biological sciences department of Exeter University, before embarking on a 20-year career as a senior research scientist working within industrial biotech and pharmaceutical development sectors for Chiroscience, Dow Chemical and Dr Reddy’s. After finally hanging up my lab coat, I became an innovation consultant, writing impactful proposals to support clients secure grant funding to accelerate R&D activities. Most recently, I worked for a Cambridge based climate tech business, where I led the company’s external grant funding and sustainability activities, helping to secure innovation funding to accelerate the development of novel hydrogen production and carbon capture technology. In this role I also gained first-hand experience of the KTP application process from a company perspective, working with the Cranfield University knowledge exchange team on a successful digital twin project.