Issue link: https://htpgraphics.uberflip.com/i/435716
15 UMIC ® UMIP ® UMI 3 UMIP FELLOWS RECRUITED AND READY TO GO! 15 Our UMIP Fellows Programme offers a unique opportunity for full-time postgraduate students registered at the University to learn about and be involved in intellectual property and technology commercialisation activities. It is modelled on the highly successful Columbia Fellows Programme which has been running since 2006 at Columbia University in New York. A Training Day was held in late September to introduce our new Fellows to the skills needed to undertake a variety of assignments to support UMIP's activities. These include completing initial assessments of the commercial viability of new inventions, including how to identify potential applications and competitors, development of marketing materials for technologies, creating lists of companies for potential collaboration or licensing and analysis of patent literature. Fellows will also have access to and support from the team at The Manchester Enterprise Centre during the one-year term of their appointment. Heather Thompson, Director of IP Development and Partnering at UMIP, commented: "It is great to get so much interest in the Fellows Programme and enthusiasm from students here. The benefits to both students and UMIP were clearly demonstrated during our "pilot" year in 2013, and this year's programme has been improved by incorporating learning from the pilot. The evidence from the 2013 cohort of Fellows is that it helped the postgraduate students to think differently about their research and to consider the eventual uses of the knowledge they create, as well as to learn about new technology areas. It also improved their understanding of intellectual property and the considerations necessary for commercialisation of technology. For UMIP, the Fellows provided valuable start- points for our detailed analysis of the commercial potential of new invention disclosures collected in the year, and for our promotion of technology externally. I would like to thank Martin Henery and Lynn Sheppard at the Manchester Enterprise Centre for their close involvement and support of the UMIP Fellows Programme." Dr Martin Henery, Enterprise Academic at the University, commented: "Having been involved in the shortlisting process particularly the interviews, it was fantastic to see just how talented the applicants were. It's not just a matter of understanding the technology and concisely describing what's special about in a way that is clear to non-specialists which is difficult in itself but it was also the degree of enterprise and creativity displayed in both identifying potential applications and the key people within industry to contact. Some of the thinking skills and detection work on show would have put Sherlock Holmes to shame. I definitely think that those students who have made it on to the scheme, both this year and last year, are definitely individuals to watch in the future as I'm sure many will go on to do something spectacular." For additional information about our Fellow Programme, please contact: Margaret Lewis on 0161 306 3067 or margaret.lewis@umip.com Following our successful UMIP Fellows Information Day which took place at our Innovation Centre on Grafton Street in late July, we have now recruited 10 Fellows from across the University who will work with our Commercialisation Executives on a part-time basis. The UMIP Fellows team