Entrepreneurs, academics and business mentors were among attendees from across the Midlands who recently attended a masterclass aimed at raising awareness of how commercialising research can result in significant impact.

Jointly hosted by Keele University and the Midlands Innovation Commercialisation of Research Accelerator (MICRA), and delivered by experienced technology transfer professionals, the masterclass explored examples of how universities have commercialised their research through routes such as spin outs, patents and licencing, before highlighting the support available for such activities going forward.

The event started with Dr Carl Edwards of Leicester University giving a background on how IP can be used by universities to fund new projects, start new research collaborations and create exciting new technologies that are ready for the open market.

This was followed by a series of case study examples from the University of Birmingham’s Dr David Coleman, highlighting how commercialisation can go right, but also demonstrating how things can equally go wrong, and what he had learnt from those cases that didn’t go to plan.

Anthony Khan, also from the University of Birmingham, delivered a presentation on the support available to academics and potential spin out companies across the MICRA universities.  Through the MICRA consortium, academics are able to access opportunities such as £50,000 product development pathway grants and £25,000 incubator access grants to further their technologies towards commercialisation.

The final presentation was delivered by Dr Nick Gostick, Director of the Smart Innovation Hub at Keele University, who detailed the many support networks available at Keele, both through the University and its wider Science and Innovation Park, and how academics could access them.

For more information about MICRA and other similar events planned in the future, please visit the website www.micragateway.org or contact Alex Lomas, Innovation and Business Development Manager, on a.j.lomas@keele.ac.uk.