Connecting with Immerse UK in partnership with Laval Virtual promises a totally new experience for the KTP Best of the Best Awards 2020!

A celebration of the multiple innovation impacts of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP), the KTP Best of the Best Awards has been completely reimagined for 2020. 

As a result of Covid-19, plans for the event had to be changed and the KTN’s KTP team was keen to explore alternative formats, leading it to connect with KTN colleagues at Immerse UK, the UK’s network for immersive technologies. Via its partnership with Laval Virtual the KTP Awards ceremony – to be held on Wednesday 9 September from 4-5pm – will now run in the Laval Virtual World, a state-of-the-art immersive environment, which can be accessed and enjoyed without any special equipment*. You can register for the event here. 

The Ceremony, being produced by Immerse UK, will be hosted by Senior Knowledge Transfer Adviser (KTA), Fiona Nightingale, and will see KTN’s CEO Dr Alicia Greated and Innovate UK’s Interim Executive Chair, Dr Ian Campbell take to the stage (either as themselves or their avatars) in the Laval Virtual space as part of a short, dynamic event where winners of six categories will be announced. 

Launched in April 2020 and run by the Laval Virtual Association the Laval Virtual World is designed to gather, inspire and valorise the global VR/AR (Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality) community throughout the year. Easy to install, use and with a simple design, the Laval Virtual World offers many possibilities.  For the KTP Best of the Best Awards guests can embody their own personalized avatar, attend the Ceremony, interact with each other and enjoy some informal networking at the post-show party. 

Commenting on the new format of the event, Senior KTA Gerry Black said “As we celebrate the innovation achieved through KTP, it is right that KTN – who, via its expert network of 31 Knowledge Transfer Advisers, is a key delivery partner of the KTP programme –  also looks to reflect innovation in the event itself. Our KTN connections with the UK’s premier immersive technologies network, Immerse UK, provided the perfect opportunity to explore using a new platform for the Awards, pushing boundaries to provide a totally different, fresh experience for the event this year ”.

On behalf of Immerse UK, Asha Easton from KTN said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with KTP and Laval Virtual to host this year’s KTP Best of the Best Awards. 

As the UK’s immersive network, Immerse UK is always seeking opportunities to showcase new ways immersive technology platforms can be utilized. Laval Virtual World was an excellent choice for this event because of it’s cross-platform accessibility, which makes it inclusive for as many participants as possible. We hope to bring the awards ceremony to life with this new format, and give the audience an introduction to what’s possible with immersive platforms.”

• Best KTP Partnership
• Business Impact Award
• Engineering Excellence Award
• Most Effective Initiative from a KTP Office Team (inspired by David Woollard and supported by Praxis Auril)
• Future Innovator (supported by Ashorne Hill)
• Societal Impact Award (new category for 2020, and supported by UKRI).

Valentin Regnier, Laval Virtual’s Community Relations Manager, added: “We are truly honoured that KTN/Immerse UK chose the Laval Virtual World to host their very first virtual KTP Best of the Best Awards. Through our collaboration with Immerse UK /KTP – which both support and drive innovation, one of our core values – Laval Virtual intends, once again, to fulfil its goals: valorise the immersive technologies and empower its community.”

Find out more about the Finalists here. 

*Guests will simply need to download the virtual platform to participate, once registered for the event. We can provide a User Guide and there will be a preview the day before to give guests the chance to familiarise themselves with the world, meet some of the finalists, and customise their avatar ready for the Ceremony the next day. The Event will also be live-streamed on YouTube.

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) create collaborative partnerships between forward-thinking organisations and specialist academic teams. Since the programme started 45 years ago, KTPs have helped around 12,000 organisations innovate for growth. Today there are more than 800 live KTP projects, with over 100 world-class UK Knowledge Bases engaged. 

Each KTP is led by a KTP Associate – a talented graduate or post graduate who acts as the bridge between the company and academic teams. The KTP Associate role provides an exceptional career platform and around 300 new vacancies become available each year. See current vacancies here. 

KTN supports the delivery of the KTP programme via its national network of highly experienced Knowledge Transfer Advisers who provide expertise throughout every KTP journey and are passionate about ensuring its success.

Funding competitions for KTP are open throughout the year. You can find out more about KTP and how to apply here.

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 KTN, Knowledge Bases and Businesses. Each partner plays a specific role in the support and delivery of the programme.

The KTP programme is now complemented by the Management KTP (mKTP), with a specific focus on improving management  effectiveness via collaborations with UK Business Schools. mKTP is funded by the UK Government department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) through Innovate UK.