2025: A Year of Innovation and Inspiration

2025: A Year of Innovation and Inspiration

CHECK OUT OUR MONTHLY HIGHLIGHTS FROM ACROSS 2025 IN THE BELOW BLOG

When we launched the KQ 2040 Vision in January of this year, we set out an ambitious roadmap for the future of Knowledge Quarter Liverpool (KQ Liverpool). As the year draws to a close and we approach our 10th Anniversary in 2026, it's an opportunity for us to reflect on the incredible momentum we’ve built over the past 12 months and the solid foundations we’ve laid for the year and the decade ahead.

Following the launch of the Vision, we swiftly got stuck into its delivery in February. Our focus on strategic growth and positive action set the tone for a year defined by new partnerships, international engagement and community impact.

March saw KQ Liverpool share its influence and insights at home and abroad. Members of the team attended MIPIM to unveil ambitious plans for our innovation district and we agreed a unique innovation pact with our colleagues at SciTech Daresbury, strengthening the regional ecosystem. Meanwhile, we hosted a special In The Know session for International Women’s Day and our assistant chief executive Emily Robson received a Rising Star Award at Downtown in Business’ Women in Business Awards.

We continued to embrace the importance of collaboration with domestic and international partners in April, as we welcomed a delegation from Ohio and our head of partnerships Claire Kidman visited Glasgow as part of a bi-annual study visit with UK Innovation Districts Group, focused on knowledge exchange.

Our chief executive Colin Sinclair was elected chair of the Invest Liverpool City Region Taskforce and we took a prominent role in May’s LCR Innovation Investment Fortnight, which included the hugely successful opening of CENTRAL TECH by our spin-out development company, Sciontec. UKREiiF also presented a further opportunity for us to join Team Liverpool in showcasing the strengths of our city region on a national stage.

Local communities are at the centre of our inclusive innovation agenda, so we were also delighted to announce greater collaboration with Kensington Fields Community Association.

Throughout the summer, our KQ Futures programme really came to the fore. The first-ever roadshows for our illustrated children’s book, The Animates: Learning in Liverpool got underway in June, while we brought together more than 70 stakeholders as part of an In the Know Summer Special. During summer, we were nominated for five separate awards, including for our KQ Futures programme.

Our second annual Career Insights Day welcomed more than 100 students in July, we hosted a Girls in STEM Day in conjunction with University of Liverpool Maths School for more than 60 students, and we worked with LCR Careers Hub to host teachers from across the LCR as part of the new CPD Teacher Encounters sessions. Ten KQ Interns also arrived for our inaugural annual living-wage initiative the following month.

Crucially, August was the moment when we submitted our bid, as part of Team Liverpool, for the title of European Capital of Innovation 2026. It was later announced in December that we had finished in the top three of the competition, becoming a member of the European iCapital Alumni, and reinforcing our reputation as a global innovation powerhouse.

September was quickly up and running, as was our chief executive Colin Sinclair, who took on an incredible 52-mile double marathon in a day run across the Liverpool City Region in just one day, supported by members of the team and some of our partners and stakeholders, ultimately raising nearly £17,000 (incl gift aid) for six local charities which support children and young people, one in each borough.

In October, Colin was proud to receive the Leading the Future award at the Liverpool Chamber Awards, while KQ Liverpool featured as a case study in the World Economic Forum’s toolkit on innovation districts. We also signed off our KQ Liverpool International Engagement Framework, launched the new KQ Liverpool website and Rachel Newman attended Downtown in Business’ Changemakers Conference to reveal the impact KQ Futures has had. It was quite the month!

In November, we were excited to launch KQ CLICK, our new purpose-built business support network, while our very own Codi Ellis was invited to present the Innovators in Science Award at the BRILLIANT Festival. We also greeted a number of schools and colleges for visits as part of our Future Innovators Programme.

December began with a visit to Turin to hear the outcome of the European Capital of Innovation bid, together with other leading members of Team Liverpool. It wouldn’t be December without a Christmas event, and our KQ Festive Social duly obliged, welcoming over 60 guests to CENTRAL TECH to look back on the year and toast our collective successes as an innovation community. It was also a great moment to talk about our search for a charity partner in 2026.

As we conclude another year of significant progress, we are already looking ahead to a momentous 2026. The coming year marks a decade since the founding of KQ Liverpool and a wonderful opportunity to build further on the platform for growth laid out in our KQ 2040 Vision.

Thank you to all our partners and stakeholders who have contributed to this incredible year. The foundations are strong, momentum is building, and the future is bright for KQ Liverpool and the city region’s innovation community.

CHECK OUT OUR YEAR IN NUMBERS BELOW - WE’VE CERTAINLY BEEN BUSY IN 2025!