The University Gas Turbine Partnership (UGTP) is a rolling five-year agreement with Rolls-Royce, which provides half of the annual funding for 80 research projects and over 75 research students and post-doctoral research associates, as well as supporting academic staff, with matching funding coming from the EPSRC, TSB and EU. The UGTP builds on a longstanding collaboration covering turbomachinery aerodynamics, noise and vibration, combustion, heat transfer and advanced cycles.

Research from the UGTP won over 13 best paper awards and The Engineer 2009 Technology and Innovation Award for the Environment for the FlowTool computational simulator. The UGTP employs formal processes for technology and people transfers. Successful transfers of research results include: SPINTHIR code for predicting ignition probability maps; validated combustion models for non-premixed and partially premixed combustion incorporated; methodology to characterise in-service blade deterioration and performance applied to the Trent 700 compressor; improved understanding of turbine blade film cooling and loss mechanisms; and novel turbine rim seals being tested for incorporation into Trent XWB.