The University of Liverpool’s partnership with Tate has been named Partnership of the Year at a national awards ceremony supported by Research Councils UK (RCUK).
Kate Spicer, Senior Impact and Business Development Manager with Business Gateway, said: “We are delighted that the value of our partnership with Tate has been recognised by our peers.
“In the past year our staff and students have been able to benefit from opportunities to share their research with new audiences and work with arts practitioners.
“The progress with the first year of the partnership has exceeded our expectations and we are very excited for the coming year of activity, including the opportunity to be part of Tate Exchange in both Tate Liverpool and Tate Modern.”
The PraxisUnico Awards recognise the role knowledge exchange plays in maximising research. The University’s Business Gateway team beat stiff competition from fellow category nominees, Heriot-Watt University and Huddersfield University to scoop the gong at a black-tie ceremony in Sheffield in front of over 250 invited guests from universities, research institutes, industry and government.
Maxine Ficarra, Executive Director of PraxisUnico said: “I would like to congratulate the winners of the PraxisUnico RCUK Impact Awards.
“They, and all of the finalists, should be immensely proud of their achievements and contributions. It is great to see so many innovative approaches to knowledge exchange and commercialisation, enabling UK research to deliver impact in so many diverse ways.
“This work is vital in ensuring that the UK remains competitive, innovative and able to sustain economic growth.”
The University’s Tate partnership delivers free entry to special exhibitions for staff and students, as well as a 10% discount in the shop and café.
The Centre for Autonomous Systems Technology (CAST) provided robotic support for Cécile B. Evans commission Sprung a Leak last autumn, and in November this year, the exhibition Surrealism in Egypt: Art and Liberty 1938 – 1948, in co-ordination with the Garstang Museum, will open.
The partnership has also opened up the Tate Exchange programme, an open experiment that provides public space for collaborative projects at both Tate Liverpool and Tate Modern.
The PraxisUnico Project of the Year award went to University of Nottingham for its tie-in with the Art-Business Initiative, while the British Geological Survey picked up Team of the Year and Newcastle University’s Phil Elstob was named Volunteer of the Year.
The next date for submissions to Tate Exchange is the June 30 2017, this is for activity to take place between January – May 2018.