Finalists announced for the Bhattacharyya Award 2023

The UK Royal Academy of Engineering has shortlisted six examples of partnerships between universities and industry for the annual award.

The presentation on 24 Octoer 2023 will give a £25k prize to the team that can best demonstrate how industry and universities can work together.

The award is a tribute to Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya KT CBE FRENg FRS, who advocated for greated industry-academia collaboration.

It is funded by the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and is open to UK universities that have demonstrated a sustained industrial partnership that has benefited society.

The work between the University of Hertfordshire and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory is celebrated by making the cut, with their focus on next-gen devices and systems for monitoring and identifying biological and chemical threats.

Another team is Loughborough University and adidas, trumpeting their partnership since 2002, which is said to have influenced major football tournaments since 2004. Their analysis of short-duration collisions in football has benefited other sports, for example, helmet design for cricket.

The University of Manchester is also shortlisted with the Nuclear Decommissioning sector, for their contribution in providing expertise for quicker and safer nuclear decommissioning. The Dalton Nuclear Institute at Manchester has reportedly improved effluent treatment at Sellafield and reduced environmental discharges by 50-90%.

The RAEng has released videos detailing each partnership's work.