TenU looks back at last year’s successes
As universities welcome their students for the new academic year, TenU looks back at last year’s successes to reflect on the future.
In July, TenU announced £4m funding for the its programmes over the next 5 years.* The funding includes a £2.5 million grant from Research England, endorsed by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
The programme will focus on 5 workstreams: evidence-building, sector engagement, strategic policy advice, investors relations and training & exchange. The grant was awarded in recognition of the work delivered in the two preceding years that supported policy research, engaged the sector through events and trained TT professionals.
Other of the past year’s achievements include:
In January, TenU launched the VC/TTO Roundtable series between senior representatives of TenU’s six UK TTOs and seven influential venture capital firms. The Rountable was created to collectively improve the commercialisation of IP arising from university research with a view to generating scalable businesses, stronger investor returns and a sustainable research base, and has been endorsed by the government in its Digital Strategy. It is currently negotiating recommendations to facilitate improved consensus on translating research from universities and will be offered for public consultation this academic year.
In May, TenU members met in London to discuss successes and challenges with government officials, Including George Freeman, the Minister for Science, Research and Innovation, and to share effective practices with the sector at public and invitation-only events. Three podcasts offer insight into some of the discussions had, with a focus on three areas that will be central during the next five-year phase.
This year, the TenU Future Leaders Programme successfully completed its first round. The TenU Future Leaders Programme is a training programme for mid-level tech transfer professionals of TenU and key partners. All participants said they would recommend it to their colleagues and rated it at 94%, giving rise to funding for a further four rounds.
In the coming months, we will be focusing on growing the team to deliver on the next five-year phase. The generous funding will translate into the continuation of our flagship TenU Hosts event series (find out about the popular TenU Hosts Women in Innovation event chaired by TenU member Lesley Millar-Nicholson). We will build on the success of the TenU Future Leaders Programme to create a new bespoke training programme. We will also deliver the objectives of the VC/TTO Roundtable, celebrate annual summits with the VC community and look out for opportunities to produce joint research. New initiatives will include the new formal partnership with the University Commercialisation and Innovation Policy Evidence Unit led by Tomas Coates Ulrichsen at the University of Cambridge, as well as collaborative projects with AUTM, PraxisAuril and ASTP.
Getting to this stage would not have been possible without the invaluable support of Research England, our partners at PraxisAuril and ASTP, and dear colleagues across the three regions who contributed with ideas, read drafts and provided support letters. Cambridge Enterprise has been a generous supporter, hosting TenU in its offices and providing thorough operational support. What transpired throughout this process was belief in TenU, a tight-knit community coming together around a much-needed programme designed to create targeted opportunities for sharing of effective practices. Coordinating all of this has been Paige World, whose enthusiasm and organisational skills are unrivalled. A heartfelt thank you to you all!
* See announcements of the grant at Tech Funding News and Business Weekly.
