Essex shortlisted for two national KTP awards

The University of Essex has been shortlisted twice for prestigious national awards in recognition of the knowledge exchange work it does with businesses, charities and organisations around the country.

The support team at Essex is one of three in the running for the Knowledge Base KTP Support Team prize, while a project between artificial intelligence (AI) researcher Dr Haider Raza and healthcare provider Check4Cancer is in the running for the Changing the World category in this year’s Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) Awards.

Held each year, the awards recognise the outstanding work between knowledge bases such as universities and partners who apply academic research to real-world problems.

Knowledge Base KTP Support Team

The category celebrates teams who have been proactive in expanding their KTP portfolio, as well as delivering high-quality support to project partners.

It comes as Essex marked more than 50 active KTPs earlier this year, sharing its research expertise and knowledge with businesses, charities and organisations across the country.

The University is working with a variety of different partners on KTPs across a range of industries, including health and social care, farming and data management.

Holly Leonard, Head of Business Engagement (Interim), said: “I’m incredibly proud of the team’s achievements – reaching 50 active KTPs is a huge milestone and the growth we’ve experienced over the last few years is a testament to their hard work and dedication.

"Beyond securing grant funding for these projects, the team provides ongoing administrative support to each project for the duration of the KTP, enabling the academic and business partners to focus on delivering transformational innovation with commercial and societal benefits.

"Supporting a portfolio of this size represents a huge body of work, which the team delivers with exemplary professionalism and enthusiasm."

She added: "We’re particularly proud of the diversification we’ve achieved in terms of business type and research area, bringing nine new third sector partners into the portfolio in recent years, and working with over 80 academics from 12 different Schools and Departments.

"Notable new additions include projects led by our Edge Hotel School, our Department of Criminology and Sociology, and several new projects with our School of Health and Social Care.

"The KTP team’s achievements are part of a strategic commitment to knowledge exchange activity at Essex, and reflect a continuing desire to see our research having a positive impact in the world."

Changing the World

The Changing the World Award recognises KTP’s which have delivered a “significant” societal, social or environmental impact.

Skin cancer incidence is rising globally and there are international shortages of dermatologists, leading to delays in diagnosis and treatment.

The KTP between Essex's Dr Haider Raza and Check4Cancer has led to the development of an AI tool which can detect malignant skin lesions with 99 per cent accuracy.

The AI model is based on previous patient data and analyses characteristics such as age, family history, and hair colour to predict the likelihood of skin cancer.

The tool is supported by the added analysis of images of skin lesions, with AI able to establish which ones may need further medical investigation.

Professor Gordon Wishart, Chief Medical Officer at Check4Cancer, said: “The clinical features which we have turned into a novel 7-point risk score gives us additional model accuracy that other skin cancer AI models do not have and, a patent is pending.”

It is hoped the new tool will slash waiting times and improve the speed of diagnosis for thousands of patients.

Dr Raza said: "Being shortlisted for the KTP Changing the World award is a real honour and a testament to the transformative potential of AI in healthcare.

"This research project has shown how combining academic expertise with industry insight can deliver high-impact solutions, in our case, using AI to improve skin cancer detection and reduce cancer waiting time.

"At a time when the Government is endorsing the use of AI to advance public services, this recognition reinforces the importance of responsible, research-led innovation in delivering better patient outcomes.

"Thanks to Check4Cancer’s forward-thinking vision in beginning to collect and store this data over a decade ago."

The winners of the KTP Awards will be announced at a special ceremony in Manchester on October 28.