The University of Surrey is building a dedicated toolkit to turn its research in communications, materials, and nanotechnology into market-ready products and services. This Knowledge Transfer Account addresses a persistent gap: world-class lab discoveries often stall before reaching industry or the public. Surrey already generates more income from UK industry than any other institution in London and the South East, but it aims to accelerate this process further. The university has identified three innovation platforms—communications and signal processing, next generation materials, and nanotechnology and photonics—where it holds particular strength. If successful, the project will embed knowledge exchange into the institution’s culture, connecting researchers with industrial partners, managing risk, and speeding up exploitation. The result could be tangible benefits to the UK economy and society, from faster communications networks to advanced manufacturing materials. The university is committing over £5 million of its own and industrial partners’ money alongside the £3.8 million requested from EPSRC, and will use the National Physical Laboratory’s rigorous methodology to measure impact. This is not fundamental science; it is a deliberate push to make existing research pay off in the real world.
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Surrey has an established track record of research innovation and exploitation and is the top institution in Londonand the South East in terms of the percentage of its income generated from UK industry. Analysis of Surrey's past and present EPSRC portfolio allied to its strategic vision for its future has allowed 3 innovation platforms tobe developed namely: 1) communications and signal processing; 2) next generation materials and characterisation and 3) nanotechnology and photonics. Surrey's excellence in research has attracted world leading industrial partners and experts in Knowledge Exchange (KE). Together they will deliver a step change in KE and overcome challenges to exploitation and thereby deliver real and tangible benefits to the UK economy andsociety. The innovative KE tool-box outlined in this bid will enable us to connect with our users; identify appropriate partners and markets for exploitation; accelerate innovation; manage risk; disseminate ideas and firmly embed KE into the heart of the institutional culture. In order to assess the impact of this KTA we will usethe internationally recognised, robust and rigorous methodology developed by NPL allied with ambitious performance metrics. The KTA governance is based on our highly successful CTA. Commended by its EPSRC reviewers Surrey has shown that large grants can be well spent and provide high value for money through excellent management and commitment...without a huge bureaucracy . 3.8m is being requested for this KTA this is backed by more than 5m from the University and our industrial partners.
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