Knowledge Quarter Liverpool

21/05/2026

KQ CLICK | Our purpose-built business support network, designed to help businesses connect, land, innovate, collaborate and knowledge share. 📈

This morning's informal drop-in session at CENTRAL TECH has resulted in some fantastic conversations, with local founders receiving free, personalised business support from RSM UK, Konsileo and Marks & Clerk.

Our expert advisors are on site until 12pm today, or you can catch them, along with DTM Legal LLP, Barclays Eagle Labs and Typocom Visual Communication, at our Business Growth Exchange event on Tuesday 2nd June: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/business-growth-exchange-tickets-1986986123985?aff=oddtdtcreator

20/05/2026

EVENT | Girls in Innovation - KQ Futures

What better way to inspire 40 Year 8 students from across Liverpool City Region to get into , , or focused careers, than through fun, hands on activities led by female experts?

👚 SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS with The Manufacturing Technology Centre

- Elizabeth Brown shared her longstanding passion for fashion and subsequent career path which led into design and materials engineering.
- Alongside Victoria Thompson, she set students a challenge to recycle old clothes into artwork depicting iconic Liverpool buildings.
- Spot the robot dog also made a surprise appearance!

✈️ SMASHING STEREOTYPES with AviateHer

- Krystina Pearson-Rampeearee talked through her fascinating career as an Aerospace Engineer at BAE Systems, before students embarked on creating their own aircrafts and competing to see which traveled the furthest.
- It was extra special for students to find out that she was an alumni of one of the participating schools!

🤖 CODING & ROBOTICS with Everton in the Community

- Chloe, Joy, and Christina talked about technology, coding and AI, and tasked the girls to programme their own robotic spheres, to spell out Girls in Innovation 26!

👏 Thank you to everyone involved in our first ‘Girls in Innovation’ event, in collaboration with The MTC. Through KQ Futures, we have been able to deliver an upbeat, creative and motivating day for students who will be driving the next generation of within our city region.

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority

19/05/2026

For our CEO Colin Sinclair, winning Insider’s North West 'Property Personality of the Year' award was an extra special moment. 🏆

Picking up this prestigious property title in - the city where he spent most of his working life - has now come full circle, having earned the accolade for his most recent work within our thriving innovation district, back in Colin's home city of .

Over the past decade, Colin has been at the helm of the KQ Liverpool partnership, which also created Sciontec Developments Limited, driving the inclusive innovation agenda and developing a leading and portfolio, including new-build .

Through strong partnerships, global connectivity, and community engagement, Colin's vision to make Liverpool the most important, , and City Region in Europe, is well underway, but like his ultramarathon runs, you would bet on him to finish the job!

📰 Read more about Colin's career, team achievements, and future goals in this latest blog: https://www.kqliverpool.co.uk/news-updates/mr-manchester-to-liverpool-legend

12/05/2026

This morning we attended the Invest Liverpool City Region UKREiiF Partner Briefing, alongside a packed room of partners.

Building on the momentum created recently at MIPIM, through the Hamburg MOU and the city’s 2028 European Capital of Innovation bid, LCR’s public and private sector delegation, convened by Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has a clear forward facing focus on , and .

💬 Speaking at the event, as Chair of the LCR Capital and Real Estate Task Force, Colin Sinclair said:

“UKREiiF is a big showcase for all of us. Our strong partnerships and consistent voices will help drive investment in physical developments, thanks to our sector strengths, joined up leadership and the local talent pool.

“Looking ahead, we also need to explore new opportunities and be inventive to get first mover advantage.

“The growing innovation across LCR will also attract greater FDI and create transformational change.”

LCR’s Programme at UKREiiF includes:
- Funding the Future
- Places for People
- City Region Snapshot
- Tracks to Transformation
- Skills to Build
- Turning Innovation into Impact
- Liverpool’s role in National Challenges

💬 Gavin Quinn added: “Together we can build momentum, shape conversations and drive investment.

“There is clear circularity across all partners’ sectors, and with a shared Liverpool brand we can amplify LCR opportunities both within the UK and internationally.

“We also have a year round investment programme to add to these milestone events, which is shaped by our partners, and welcome input for future activities.”

08/05/2026

Liverpool sets its sights on becoming European Capital of Innovation in 2028, 20 years after being named European Capital of Culture.

We are supporting the city's new bid, which will include a number of initiatives to make it as representative and inclusive as possible, including:
- forming a city region-wide steering group
- creation of a new citizens’ panel
- maximising connections through the iCapital alumni network

💬 Cllr. Liam Robinson, Leader of Liverpool City Council and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority’s Cabinet Member for Innovation, said:

"We want to clinch the title of 'European Capital of Innovation' for 2028. This is something we believe the city region both deserves and needs as we endeavour to put Liverpool and the UK firmly on the global innovation map.”

➡️ Read more here: https://www.kqliverpool.co.uk/news-updates/kqliverpool-supports-liverpool-2028-bid

05/05/2026

🟣 LATEST NEWS: Knowledge Quarter Liverpool has pledged its support for Liverpool’s bid for the title of European Capital of Innovation in 2028.

Having played an integral role in the city’s application for the 2026 iCapital contest, where Liverpool finished in the final three, we're now backing Team Liverpool's aim to secure the prize in two years’ time (as previous finalists are unable to apply in consecutive years).

💬 Colin Sinclair, CEO of KQ Liverpool and chair of the Invest Liverpool City Region Partnership Taskforce, explained:

"Since reaching the 2026 final, Liverpool has joined the prestigious iCapital alumni network, allowing it to access enhanced exchange and partnerships across Europe, pursue jointly-funded projects via the Horizon programme, and increase and opportunities with fellow innovation-focussed cities within the network.

"Furthermore, 2028 will be the 20th anniversary of Liverpool winning the European Capital of title. What better way to celebrate that momentous year in the City’s history and the hugely positive legacy it gave us all, than by going all out to be the European Capital of too!"

This news comes as nominations for the 2027 edition of the competition opened today in Aalborg, Denmark, attracting innovation and civic leaders from across Europe, including Colin and our assistant CEO, Emily Robson.

📰 Read the press release in full here: https://www.kqliverpool.co.uk/news-updates/kqliverpool-supports-liverpool-2028-bid

05/05/2026

There are less than 3 weeks left to enter our 'Life Under the Microscope' art competition, open to all secondary school pupils across the Liverpool City Region.

This opportunity, run in partnership with dot-art Schools, is part of our KQ Futures programme, connecting young people in Liverpool with the extraordinary opportunities being created on their doorstep, blending STEAM skills with real-world inspiration.

We're inviting young creatives to pick up a brush, pencil, or whatever inspires them and explore:

🧬 The invisible microscopic worlds driving health and life sciences innovation
👁️ Or what it really means to live your life under the scrutiny of the modern world

There's no single right answer or design, just space for imagination to thrive.

🏆 The winning artist receives:
✅ A £100 art materials voucher
✅ A customised trophy
✅ Their artwork displayed in the CENTRAL TECH innovation hub
✅ £500 for their school's art department

Plus four runners-up prizes of £25 each.

📅 Deadline: 22 May 2026

All entries can be submitted here: https://www.kqliverpool.co.uk/news-updates/life-under-the-microscope

05/05/2026

05/05/2026

We're delighted to be attending the 'iCapital 2027 Launch Event' in sunny Denmark this morning, representing Liverpool as one of this years' finalists in the European Capital of Innovation Awards.

Colin Sinclair and Emily Robson are in the beautiful Utzon Centre on the waterfront in , hearing from its city council representatives about the standout innovation initiatives in their community, and launching the next edition of the awards to find Europe's leading innovators.

22/04/2026

Our Assistant Chief Executive Emily Robson attended the Liverpool City Region APPG in Westminster this week!

Emily was part of an expert industry panel which spotlighted Liverpool's progress as a City of Innovation, demonstrated by being recognised as the third most innovative City in Europe in the European Capital of Innovation Awards, but also how we can break down barriers to achieving our even greater ambitions – particularly in terms of having the right spaces for innovation.

Read more about the session: https://www.appglcr.org.uk/latest-news-1/breaking-down-barriers-powering-up-investment-and-innovation-to-drive-growth-for-lcrs-people-and-places