The Phoenix Instinct team standing outside the building

A collaboration to create an ultra-light, smart wheelchair has won an award in the Knowledge Exchange Excellence category at the Centre for Engineering, Education & Development (CeeD) Awards 2025.

University of the West of Scotland and (location-based) Phoenix Instinct have been working together to create a hybrid wheelchair, part electric, part manual, which gives the user easier mobility while protecting joints from fatigue and long-term damage from pushing. It includes integrated front wheel power assist, electronic braking, hybrid technology, and a single-piece carbon fibre frame.

The project, which has spanned two Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) has previously won the Global Toyota Mobility Foundation’s Mobility Unlimited Challenge, securing a $1,000,000 prize.

“Bringing new skills into a company is very challenging when there is no existing skill base to support them. UWS has supported us to find a skilled KTP associate and supported them through their position, on into a permanent employment. The company now has the capability and capacity to develop new products with the new inhouse skills. The Phoenix i wheelchair we have developed is truly life changing and is beginning a new generation of smart wheelchairs.”
Andrew Slorance, founder and CEO of Phoenix Instinct

The focus of the KTP project is now to embed expertise in electronics, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to develop the next generation of smart wheelchairs.

“Phoenix Instinct's long-standing strategic alliance with UWS showcases the power of industry-academia partnerships in driving impactful change, which in this case will be genuinely life-changing for those fortunate enough to have access to the Phoenix i platform.”
Dr Stuart McKay, Senior KTP Manager, UWS KTP Centre
three men pose at an awards ceremony with a wheelchair

The team from UWS includes academic lead, Professor Muhammad Zeeshan Shakir, Lecturer Dr Tony Leslie, as well as UWS PhD student and KTP Associate Jakub Rycerz from the first KTP project, and KTP Associate Muhammad Moid Khan from the second KTP whose work was pivotal for Phoenix Instinct.

The winners of the CeeD Industry Awards 2025 were announced at a ceremony on Thursday, 6 March, in Glasgow.