UMI NEWS
3
UMI3 The University of Manchester Innovation Group
Issue 2, July 2013
WELCOME TO UMI NEWS…
3
Through our bi-annual newsletter we will keep you informed of the most recent activities of
our Intellectual Property commercialisation division (UMIP) and our Innovation Centre (UMIC).
UMI3 ENTREPRENEURSHIP FORUM
The aim of our Entrepreneurship Forum is to encourage and support social enterprise and student entrepreneurship at the
University and also to unite the corporate community, whose interests lie in entrepreneurship and innovation, with the
University's world-class academic/research community. This is achieved through the following initiatives:
Entrepreneur-in-Transit Scheme
Open Innovation
Entrepreneurship
Forum
Social Enterprise
IQuBIT and Student Enterprise
Entrepreneur-in-Transit Scheme Update…
Our Entrepreneur-in-Transit (EiT)
Scheme has proven very popular
since launched eight months
ago. The aim is for entrepreneurs
to work with UMIP to increase
the yield and quality of
ventures by exploring the best
ways in which to engage with
the commercial market and
validate its appetite for
early-stage technologies.
Last December, entrepreneurs,
academics from the School of
Physics and Astronomy and
representatives from The Science
and Technology Research Council
(STFC) and UMIP came together
to learn more about this exciting
scheme and how it could benefit
academic colleagues.
Working closely with Professor
Steve Watts, Head of School
for Physics and Astronomy, a
selection of projects were
identified which could
benefit from engagement
with entrepreneurs.
During January, eight academics
presented their projects to eight
entrepreneurs, UMIP and
representatives from STFC and
the European Organisation for
Nuclear Research (CERN).
Following this, the academics and
entrepreneurs took part in a
speed dating style event in which
they had ten minutes to talk
further about their projects and
the type of assistance required.
Throughout February, March
and April, academics and
entrepreneurs continued to
engage and understand how
they could work together.
Following these interactions,
academics expressed their
choice for working with a
preferred entrepreneur
which resulted in a final four
academic/entrepreneur pairings.
Future activity will involve these
four partnerships presenting
their project business plans and
planned activity to secure
funding from the UMIP
evaluation board. Successful
projects will be formally
assigned to the EiT Scheme and
the appointed entrepreneurs
UMI3 The University of Manchester Innovation Group
will begin assisting in
their commercialisation.
Ellie Sagar, UMIP's Enterprise
Development Executive,
comments: "The EiT scheme is in
its infancy but feedback has been
very positive so far. We hope to
extend this activity to the School
of Computer Science and
eventually across the whole of
the University thereby
complementing UMIP's current
activities in the commercialisation
of intellectual property."
If you would like to get
involved, please contact Ellie
Sagar, ellie.sagar@umip.com,
0161 606 7265 for
further information.
www.umi3.com
