Collaborative research project at University of Northampton scoops coveted national award

A collaborative research project between the University of Northampton and a multi-national leather manufacturer based in the UK has scooped a prestigious award from Innovate UK.

The team of researchers won the coveted Technical Excellence award for the Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) between University of Northampton’s (UON) Institute for Creative Leather Technologies and Scottish Leather Group (SLG), which has ensured SLG’s leather manufacturing process is even more environmentally sustainable by using waste materials generated by other industries.

The new process has equipped SLG with an alternative processing method, helping secure their position as a global market leader for low carbon footprint leather manufacture.

At the awards ceremony, Innovate UK judges commended the project team for the “excellent outcomes and high level of radical innovation within a well-established company and industry sector.”

University of Northampton’s KTP Associate, Luc Vogtlander – who is now employed by SLG – accepted the award on behalf of the team, and said: “It’s a real honour for such an established industry – the leather industry – to be represented in the Technical Excellence category. It’s an industry which truly has sustainability at its heart, and to be a part of this development has been a real privilege.”

Professor of Leather Science, Will Wise recognised the significance of the award win, and said: “This is a huge achievement for the University of Northampton and Scottish Leather Group which validates the success of the project.

“The high calibre of other KTP projects, and scrutiny of the shortlisting process, means that achievements like this are only possible with a strong team. The excellent work ethic of Luc Vogtlander helped drive the project forward, balancing the commercial and academic drivers. It’s also important to recognise less visible members of the team, such as staff in our Business Support team, who work incredibly hard to make sure that this project and others like it run smoothly.

“This is a huge achievement for the University, and is one shining example of its numerous gold-standard collaborative research projects driving national and global change.”

You can watch the Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership Awards 2024 in full online via Youtube. The University of Northampton and SLG’s Technical Excellence Award is presented at 1 hour 27 minutes.