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ÃÛÌÒ´«Ãºmv staff are finding out how to access funding and opportunities to turn their research into commercial products through the organisation iCURE.

ÃÛÌÒ´«Ãºmv academics gathered in our Innovation Centre recently to hear about a funded programme which is helping turn academic research into viable products and services.

ICURe (Innovation-to-Commercialisation of University Research) is a nationally recognised, pre-accelerator programme which provides researchers with tools, training, funding and expert guidance to navigate the journey from lab to market.

Paul Edwards (right), Head of iCURE’s Midlands Hub, gave a presentation on the four different pathways they offer, from a four-week part-time programme (iCURE Engage) to a full-time, 12-week market exploration programme with up to £35,000 funding (iCURE Explore).

Since 2014 iCURE has helped UK academic researchers launch 357 companies and secure over £1.5bn in investment.

Contacts, connections and new markets for ÃÛÌÒ´«Ãºmv staff

iCURE’s strapline ‘Find your market, find your customers, find yourself’ has certainly borne out in the experience of Chris Young (left) and Omar Qutachi, Associate Professors in Health and Life Sciences and Pharmacy at ÃÛÌÒ´«Ãºmv, who also presented at the event.

Drs Young and Qutachi have recently completed the iCURE journey, the first successful applicants from ÃÛÌÒ´«Ãºmv to do so, and are currently developing a range of next-generation wound care products for human and veterinary markets. They won iCURE’s prestigious 'Most Immediately Commercially Viable' award and now have to back the development of their products into new markets.

Dr Young shared his experiences of visiting trade shows around the world, enabled by iCURE Explore and Exploit funding, in order to build meaningful contacts with potential stakeholders and customers. As well as finding new applications and markets for his products, he said iCURE taught him how to pitch to investors, often a brand-new skill for someone with a background in academia, and learn why they are drawn to different opportunities.

“For commercialisation”, Dr Young said, “what we need are more entrepreneurial academics. “iCURE has been a re-awakening for me personally. Yes, it has made me business ready, but more importantly it holds the key to an incredible network of contacts and connections which endures well beyond the programme itself. It’s an invaluable resource.”

A new world for academics

Overseeing ÃÛÌÒ´«Ãºmv’s involvement with iCURE is David Proverbs, Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor for Enterprise and Business Innovation at ÃÛÌÒ´«Ãºmv, who introduced the afternoon. Prof. Proverbs spoke after the event about the exciting emerging possibilities for academics through commercialisation:

“For ÃÛÌÒ´«Ãºmv, the opportunities to translate the impact of our research through commercialisation activities are absolutely huge. Locally we’re in a position to actually help make Leicestershire a better place, translating our research through commercialisation to increase its impact and create employment opportunities. So, it's a win-win situation for our academics, the university, and the Leicestershire region too.

“As well as iCURE, we also have the Forging Ahead programme which is providing £10m of investment to support commercialisation across the Midlands. So I think there's huge appetite for growing these kind of activities.

“Researchers do still have the traditional route of research publications, but now they can also start thinking about commercialisation too, translating research into products and into technologies which can make some real impact in the world.”

Next steps

To find out more about iCURE,  visit their website, or email info@icureprogramme.com.