The highly anticipated AKT programme Round 4 from Innovate UK returns to fund short-term collaborations between business partners and Universities to accelerate industry led research and innovation projects.
AKT4 Addiction Healthcare Goals (2025) funds the development of research projects relevant to the treatment, recovery, and harm prevention for those with drug and alcohol addictions. Further information and scope can be found by following this link (Innovate UK).
The University of Bath had three successful AKT projects awarded from Innovate UK in the previous rounds, allowing industry partners to collaborate with world-leading experts on 3-4 month exploratory projects which are heavily subsidised, with Innovate UK funding up to 90% of project costs (total project amount in the region of £35k with a minimum 10% partner contribution expected, TBC).
The AKT programme has offered themed and open-call funding and has been recognised as one of the best-value funding mechanisms for developing partnerships between organisations and Universities.
Mayden
The AKT between the University of Bath and health-tech company Mayden, reviewed and prototyped bias mitigation and explainability techniques for AI driven predictive tools for use in client management and clinician workflow.
The project, led by Dr Julian Padget in the Department of Computer Science, co-developed best practices within Mayden for the management of AI tools. In addition, the AKT also transferred knowledge about bias, transparency, explanation, governance and oversight through the co-evolution of Mayden’s AI model development pipeline.
The focus of the project explored methods of understanding and dealing with AI bias which is particularly relevant to the health-tech industry when integrating AI into software and services. By the end of the project, a module was being developed to integrate the results into Mayden’s software, providing meaningful predictive insights to their customers.
Alice Davis at Mayden says:
This partnership has established new processes and practices within Mayden for the development of safe and explainable AI tools and embedded hard to acquire technical knowledge within Mayden’s teams while strengthening our relationship with experts at the University of Bath.
Alive Labs
The AKT with Alive Labs, a design company bringing healthier systems into our urban environment, investigated the mechanical properties of a novel cladding solution developed by the company, designed to have moss growing on its surface as a next-generation green wall.
The partnership, led by Dr Richard Ball with Jingbang Pan, and Mohamed Katish, from the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, was established to understand the inner chemistry of the cladding material for improved mechanical performance.
Alive Labs developed variations of their patented material over the course of the AKT, using the expertise and facilities at the University of Bath to test and validate the new prototype materials. Each round focused on investigating a specific property of the material, such as porosity, strength, and carbon-negativity.
Dr Richard Ball says:
Alive Labs and the University of Bath worked together to develop a strong, carbon-negative, mix for use in bioreceptive cladding solutions. Innovation was introduced via the use of naturally occurring substances which provide the required properties, whilst also lowering the embodied carbon of the final cladding product.
The AKT has accelerated Alive Labs’ development of passive green air purification and cladding systems that can thermally regulate and clean the air that we breathe, reducing the need for mechanical ventilation and improving societal health and wellbeing.
Successful deployment of the innovation developed in this AKT has allowed the business to become a significant player in the UK and global cladding markets.
Architen Landrell
Architen Landrell is a specialist tensile fabric company for some of the world’s most inspiring architectural membrane structures. Their clients need to understand risk and plan a replacement strategy for structures which are approaching ‘end of life’. Potential degradation could result from UV, environmental conditions, bacteria or algae activity, and chemically aggressive environments.
To explore this, they were awarded an AKT with the University of Bath led by Dr Richard Ball with Paul Romain and Afi Khorramshokouh, Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering. Partners explored the feasibility of developing a handheld instrument for non-invasive, site-based inspections of structural membrane materials to inform residual life expectancy.
The outcome of the AKT has uncovered new insight on degradation processes and low-cost mobile solutions for visual inspection with adequate resolutions that are fit for purpose. The team also identified the significant potential for AI techniques to be integrated into the assessment for shaping future developments through interpreting large amounts of data. Capturing relevant data from existing structures is now embedded within Architen’s inspection and maintenance methodologies.
Apply for AKT4 funding
If you are interested in partnering with the University of Bath to apply for AKT4 funding on the Theme of Addition Healthcare Goals and, would like to discuss projects or eligibility, please contact the Business Partnerships & Knowledge Exchange Team with your enquiry at partnerships@bath.ac.uk. Further information on the latest AKT.