Partners and Sponsors

Innovate UK

Innovate UK is proud to be partnering with the University of Salford, Manchester Metropolitan University, and the University of Manchester to co-host the KTP 2025 Conference and Awards, marking 50 years of transformative UK innovation through Knowledge Transfer Partnerships.

This milestone event celebrates the enduring impact of collaboration between academia and industry, spotlighting legacy projects, pioneering partnerships, and - most importantly - the people who have championed innovation, driven progress, and helped shape the UK’s economic, social, and technological landscape.

For 50 years Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) have united visionary businesses, expert academics, and talented graduates to tackle real-world innovation challenges. Each three-way partnership delivers commercial impact, boosts career progression, and strengthens UK research.

With 83% of participating businesses reporting increased productivity, profitability or growth, KTP continues to be a cornerstone of innovation-led growth across the UK.

 

Elsevier

Elsevier is a global leader in advanced information and decision support for science and healthcare.  For more than 140 years, we’ve helped advance science and healthcare to advance human progress, and that same mission drives us today.  We are part of RELX, a FTSE 10 company and global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professionals and business customers.

The communities we serve across academia, R&D driven industries and healthcare are working to solve some of the world’s biggest challenges -- we strive to bring them the best solutions and to be the best partner possible for progress. We deliver insights that help research institutions, governments and funders achieve their goals. We help researchers discover and share knowledge, collaborate, and accelerate innovation. We help librarians provide verified, quality information to universities.

Your partner for progress

Strengthen research capabilities and address challenges at every stage of the research journey with high-quality data and analytics.    Our trusted brands include the world’s leading research platforms like ScienceDirect and Scopus, technical databases such as Reaxys for chemicals - all enriched by responsible AI. Pure is a Research Information Management System (RIMS) or Current Research Information System (CRIS). Pure brings information from all your data sources onto a single, intelligent and secure platform, empowering you to gain a comprehensive overview of all your research activities. SciVal: Dynamic insights for decisive strategy gives you access to high-level insights about your institution’s research performance and how it compares to your peers’, including the possibility to evaluate and monitor progress.

Would you like to align and learn more? Then please reach out via emea.marketing@elsevier.com. 

 

University of Manchester, Innovation Factory

The University of Manchester Innovation Factory works with academic and student inventors to identify research with the potential to deliver social, economic and environmental impact.

We transform this intellectual property into innovations that can benefit society, creating new opportunities through the formation of spinout companies and the negotiation of licensing agreements. By bridging the gap between world-class research and real-world application, we help turn ideas into products, services and technologies that make a tangible difference.

 

 

 

GM Business Growth Hub

GM Business Growth Hub is Greater Manchester’s business support organisation. Part of The Growth Company, we help unlock potential in businesses that want to achieve more.

Our Innovation team offers strategic support that empowers businesses across every part of Greater Manchester to accelerate their growth. We specialise in navigating challenges and turning ideas into revenue, taking innovations from concept to commercialisation.

Sitting at the heart of the region’s innovation community, we provide unrivalled access to world-leading expertise, cutting-edge R&D facilities, and transformational funding. Our experienced advisors work as trusted partners who address specific needs, deliver tailored support, and open doors to new markets.

From product and design testing and new technology adoption to protecting intellectual property, we drive businesses forward – saving them time, reducing costs, and mitigating risks.

With GM Business Growth Hub part-funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, this support also comes at no charge to the organisations we work with. Find out more - Transforming your operations & sparking Innovation Solutions

 

FIS360

Founded in 2013, FIS360 Ltd is a highly experienced team of UK-based innovation specialists delivering open innovation, technology commercialisation, and training.

The firm has earned a reputation for delivering tailored programmes – such as the Game Changers innovation programme for Sellafield Ltd – that link corporates, SMEs, academia, and government to catalyse the commercialisation of new technologies. With ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and Cyber-Essentials certifications, FIS360 has trained over 70 innovators, supported 420+ organisations across 50+ sectors, and leveraged £14 million+ in early-stage funding. Their core values – flexible, proactive, collaborative and transformative – drive impactful outcomes in highly-regulated industries such as nuclear, energy, water, and aerospace.

 

 

Beever and Struthers

Beever and Struthers is a firm of Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors headquartered in Manchester, with offices in Birmingham and London. Ranked among the top 10 accountancy firms in the North West and 53rd in The Accountancy Age Top 50+50 Accountancy Firms 2024, we bring over a century of experience helping clients overcome challenges and achieve their goals.

With 18 partners who are experts in their fields, supported by talented directors, managers, and dedicated support teams, we work closely with businesses, their owners, and third sector organisations. While our technical expertise is wide-ranging, our approach is refreshingly straightforward: we combine in-depth knowledge with practical problem-solving, a keep-it-simple attitude, and a highly personal service.

What sets us apart is how we build relationships. We take the time to listen and understand what really matters to each client, offering tailored advice that’s both clear and commercially sound. Many of our clients have been with us for decades - a testament to the trust and care we foster in every relationship.

We’re proud of our core values, our long-standing commitment to our local communities, and our ongoing efforts to promote sustainability. As a member of HLB International, a global network of independent professional accounting firms and business advisors, we also offer clients access to expert support around the world.

Whether it’s supporting a charity with compliance, helping a business grow sustainably, or guiding clients through complex change, Beever and Struthers brings clarity, confidence, and a personal touch every step of the way.

 

I Want Plants

Working across the UK installing incredible live and artificial planting installations, we’re not like any other commercial green infrastructure company and established in 1974, we’re currently celebrating 50 Years Ahead too.

Fuelled by progressive biophilic design, we’re a Manchester family business creating a healthier, greener future for the next generation and five years ago, we launched our unique modular living wall system, HYVERT.

Our desire to scientifically quantify HYVERT’s environmental and ecological performance led to our first Innovate UK award winning KTP with Manchester Metropolitan University in 2021.

Such was its success, we are currently advancing with KTP2 to expedite HYVERT’s evolution further by utilising machine learning and applied AI.

This has already led to a revolutionary new product launch; HYVERT.AI - AI Powered Vertical Green Walls.