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A postgraduate researcher from Â鶹´«Ã½ Leicester (Â鶹´«Ã½) has been nominated for a national award for work on a project that could unlock funding for the region.

Harsh Shah’s drive, energy and ability have seen him nominated as one of the UK’s top KTP Associates by Innovate UK in this year’s KTP Awards.

KTPs, or Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, are collaborations between businesses, universities and a qualified researcher, known as a KTP Associate, to help companies improve their competitiveness and productivity.

Harsh’s work with East Midlands Chamber involves wide-ranging data analysis, bringing together all of the data about the region in one place to mine it for meaningful information. This is a potential goldmine of data that can be used to help decision making in the region or support funding bids by better demonstrating the need for support.

It has already led to further work informing the region’s skills agenda and seen the creation of a skills observatory which plots trends and current demand from employers. 

Harsh said he was thrilled to be among the finalists. He said: “With the excellent support of the team at East Midlands Chambers and Â鶹´«Ã½, I have been able to deliver the best outcomes in my role by working on numerous fronts and bringing more investment in the East Midlands economy.

“Being selected as a finalist, has only strengthened my motivation to work harder and deliver even better outcomes in my role. It will be another great day to meet my fellow KTP associates working all around the UK.”

Thanks to his work, East Midlands Chamber is able to support its members and policymakers in making data-led decisions helping them to thrive and grow.

The Future Leader award is for associates who have shown exceptional skills, above and beyond the normal expectations of the role.

Dr Rhianna Briars, Knowledge Exchange officer, said: “It is a fantastic result to have Harsh’s work on our KTP to be recognised in this years’ awards. It is a testament to the dedication he shows to the project, and highlights the impact that our collaboration with the Chamber is creating in the region. The KE team are incredibly proud of Harsh for being named as a finalist in the Future Leader category.”

The KTP Awards recognise the people and partnerships behind the UK’s most inspiring and successful KTP projects. At present there are more than 800 inspiring collaborations happening across the country. This year’s ceremony takes place on October 12 in Liverpool.

An Innovate UK spokesperson said: “The awards help us shine a light on the tremendous impact of the KTP programme, not only on the people and organisations involved but at the broader societal level.”