The Swansea University, Department of Research and Innovation’s programme, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), helps encourage academic researchers  to think about the commercialisation of their research and ideas and gets them think about the opportunities and  ‘impact’ of their research and provide them with the tools to either take forward their ideas by creating ‘spinout companies’, submit patents for licensing or use their research to help drive forward economic and social impact with business and communities.

The course has a successful track record and previous attendees have used the programme as a foundation to launch spinout company’s, the most recent being Swansea Polymers Ltd set up earlier this year following participation in the programme 2 years ago. Bruce Jones and Patrick Woldarski from Swansea Polymers Ltd working with the Astute project in the College of Engineering at Swansea University have created the The Berry Box™ which is a  transparent plastic suitable case for the Raspberry Pi™, a new credit card sized computer.

Ali Parker, the University’s Knowledge Transfer Officer who organised the course said:

“Bridging Innovation is the first step toward developing a knowledge economy in Wales, a critical area for the University as far as developing entrepreneurship, enhancing research credibility, and generating income.

“We have been successful in attracting some excellent speakers from industry to the programme, who have been through the process of creating their own companies either while at University or after graduating, and who have provided an insight into their success.”

A recent course, delivered to a select group of 20 early stage academic researchers, was hailed as a success by those who attended. The attendees were privileged to have a talk from Simon Gibson OBE. Simon is Head of the Alacrity Foundation, a charity set up to drive forward entrepreneurship, he is also patron of the recently launched Swansea Employability Academy and CEO of Wesley Clover founded by Sir Terry Matthews a graduate of Swansea University.

Chris James from CIOTEK, the business consultancy who delivered the 4 day programme has been instrumental in presenting the stages of innovation and commercialisation commented:

 “There is a high level of input and involvement in this programme and once again the participants illustrated the tremendous capability of academic researchers a tSwansea University.  This was evidenced by their ability to understand the principles of taking ideas through to commercial opportunities in just a four day programme.” 

The 4 day course culminated in a Dragons Den style panel whereby experts provided feedback on business plans , a simulated practice run for the group who will no doubt be involved in real life ‘business pitch ‘ situations in the not too distant future!

The course received fantastic reviews from this years attendees…..

• ‘An excellent programme that will challenge your mind for innovative ideas’ – Deya Gonzalez.
• 'A very insightful programme into creating wealth from innovation with a detailed and interactive roadmap to successfully making money from an idea. A must for anyone interested in enterprise’ – Zayed Abdullah

For further information on the course contact:

Ali Parker, Department of Research and Innovation,SwanseaUniversity

Tel: 01792 60 2630.    email: a.c.parker@swansea.ac.uk