September 17, 2025, by Rob Ounsworth
Accelerating our discoveries into commercial applications
Update by Professor Ed Lester
I’m sure you all know there’s plenty of exciting research taking place the across the University of Nottingham. My role is to help accelerate the translation of these discoveries into real-world, commercial applications, and I’m pleased to share news of how collaboration, entrepreneurship and the sharing of knowledge with our partners is supporting this mission. You’ll note there is rather a lot of news to cover.
University marks 50 Years of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships
Our university is celebrating 50 years of Innovate UK’s Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) – a national programme that has transformed businesses, advanced academic research impact and launched exceptional careers.
Earlier this month, we welcomed more than 80 delegates, including past, current, and prospective KTP business partners and Innovate UK representatives and highlighted the university’s contributions to the regional and national economy through research and innovation. Nottingham has a rich history of delivering successful KTPs. Since 2003, more than 160 projects have secured over £28m in funding. Nationally, KTPs have delivered £2.3 bn back to the UK economy.
The event included a panel discussion, chaired by Dr George Rice, Director of Business Engagement and Knowledge Exchange, which explored what makes KTP collaborations successful.
If you would like to explore how KTP could support your research or want to learn more about the mechanisms in place, please contact the KTP Team.
East Midlands Combined County Authority
The East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) plays a key role in supporting growth and innovation across the local economy. Professor Tom Rodden, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Exchange, chairs the EMCCA’s Innovation and Advisory Board and we’re working with the EMCCA to develop a regional response to the government’s £500m Local Innovation Partnership Fund, and the opportunities it will present to the East Midlands Investment Zone.
Midlands Mindforge
Nottingham is a co-founder of Midlands Mindforge, a patient (long-term) capital investment fund with a mission is to accelerate and enhance the commercialisation of ground-breaking science and technology innovations in the Midlands region. It aims to raise up to £250m for university spin-outs and other early-stage IP-rich businesses and is currently undertaking due diligence on UoN spin-out companies that will be part of its first series of investments.
Enterprise Excellence: celebrating our spin-out community
We are hosting an ‘Enterprise Excellence’ event on 1 October, which will bring together our spin-out community. This will also be an opportunity for the university to restate our commitment to innovation and our regional mission, reinforcing our role in driving economic growth and societal impact through research commercialisation.
Forging Ahead
George Rice is joining the council of Forging Ahead, a coalition of 15 Midlands universities that aims to revolutionise how research and innovation are translated into real-world impact. George will contribute to Forging Ahead’s strategy and management. On 22 September, the consortium will convene the first gathering of the Midlands universities’ commercialisation community.
Meanwhile, the first cohort of three UoN entrepreneurs are joining the Forging Ahead-funded MEDICI Enterprise Training Programme, which supports researchers in developing the skills required to realise the commercial potential of their research.
Commercialising your research: Dr Liliana de Lilo’s journey
The Faculty of Engineering’s Dr Liliana de Lilo is a great example of a successful KE journey, where collaboration and commercialisation has real impact. In 2010, Liliana and her team with the Power Electronics, Machines and Control group were approached by ITT, a global manufacturer of pumps for industry, to collaborate on the development of advanced, energy-efficient motor drive. After thousands of hours of development and testing, ITT is now delivering VIDAR industrial motors to customers worldwide.
Liliana’s journey was made possible by support at UoN. An Impact Exploration Grant – part of our Impact Acceleration Accounts programme – kick-started her first steps towards impact by supporting early collaboration with ITT. Liliana and her colleagues also tapped into the expertise of our IP commercialisation and licensing teams. Congratulations to all involved.
Starting the KE journey: Dr Sam Beatson
Dr Sam Beatson from Nottingham University Business School has more recently been awarded an Impact Exploration Grant, which will help Sam engage with external partners over potential real-world applications for his financial insight system.
With support from INFINITY, the University of Nottingham Inclusive Financial Technology Hub, and the IP Commercialisation team, Dr Beatson has now won a fully funded place on the Innovate UK ICURe programme.
ICURe gives researchers the chance to turn ground-breaking research into investment-ready spin-out companies and license agreements. Congratulations to Sam on joining ICURe – I look forward to this catalysing future successes.
2025 winter call for Impact Accelerator Accounts
This call is currently open and closes on Wednesday 1 October.
Whether you’re forming industrial collaborations, launching a spin-out, preparing for clinical trials, or engaging with communities, IAAs can provide you with the chance to accelerate your work beyond the academic environment.
Throughout September, a series of workshops and drop-in sessions are available to guide you through the process, including tailored advice, impact strategy development, and 1:1 project support.
Our commitment to funding novel interdisciplinary research
Several further UoN funding schemes have been relaunched, opening the door to fresh opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaboration, international partnerships and career development.
These centrally and strategically managed schemes complement existing faculty and school-based funding, with a strong emphasis on interdisciplinarity and research that bridges the university’s diverse academic strengths.
These include:
UNICAS becomes ‘SEED’ – expanding across all faculties
One of the most popular schemes, formerly known as UNICAS, has now been renamed SEED to reflect its broadened scope.
While UNICAS originated as support for projects in Science, Engineering and Medicine, SEED now pro-actively welcomes researchers from the Arts and Social Sciences, creating an even richer environment for cross-faculty collaboration.
SEED funds interdisciplinary proof-of-concept projects that involve measuring, gathering, and analysing data, whether from lab experiments, social surveys, or creative practice.
International Research Collaboration Fund
The IRCF supports researchers to travel and collaborate with excellent new or existing partners outside the UK – particularly in Europe – to develop large-scale funding applications.
Priority will be given to collaborations with institutions of demonstrable research excellence (e.g. QS global top 50) and those that directly advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Return to Research
The Return to Research Scheme offers targeted support to colleagues coming back from long-term leave — such as parental or sick leave — helping them re-establish momentum and reconnect with research pathways.
Improving innovation management and support
The university is continually improving the support available to our research on the journey towards commercialisation of their innovations.
The Innovation Disclosure (previously IP Disclosure) process is an important step in university innovation management and is used to formally record an innovation or invention before the university tries to generate impact via commercialising it.
This will clarify the support provided by the IP Commercialisation Office (IPCO), including clear next steps via a Submission Report.
Adjustments have been made to the Innovation Disclosure Forms to capture the nuances of different Innovations including software and SHAPE (‘Social sciences, Humanities and Arts for People and the Economy’).
This will allow the IPCO to better track the range of Innovations at UoN, generate richer insights for our IP commercialisation strategy, and provide the best support to inventors, from the start.
To discuss and disclose an Innovation, use this Expression of Interest form. Alternatively, speak to your Faculty Innovation Hub or IPCO contact.
More information about commercialising research can be found here, and about intellectual property here.
UoN experts help set REF 2029 submission criteria
Congratulations to all the colleagues who have been appointed by Research England to serve on the national panels that will shape assessment of submissions to the Research Excellence Framework (REF) in 2029.
The announcement follows a decision by the four UK higher education funding bodies to confirm the pause in the criteria setting and publication of final guidance for REF 2029 for a brief period.
The funding bodies will use this opportunity to take stock, ensure alignment with government priorities and vision for higher education, and reflect on feedback from the sector. REF will announce any changes to the exercise by December 2025.
REF2029: next steps
It is important to note that the overall REF2029 timetable is unaffected and the main submission deadline remains unchanged, so our planning must continue.
What we know:
– Guidance and Code of Practice schedules will shift. Research England will communicate any adjustments by December 2025.
– RE will publish the People, Culture, and Environment pilot report by the end of October 2025.
Next steps:
– Continue developing high quality outputs and reviewing outputs in line with current guidance.
– Continue developing our impact case studies
Thank you for your continued work to get us institutionally ready for REF2029.
Celebrating our QS World University Rankings success
Earlier this month, more than 160 colleagues came together to celebrate an important milestone: the university’s position at 97th in the world in the latest QS World University Rankings.
The celebratory event not only acknowledged this success but also shone a spotlight on some of the university’s leading areas of research.
A huge thank you to all colleagues who took the time to engage with this event and who continue to make the university a world-leading place to learn, research and work.
Tri-Campus workshops to boost international research collaboration: book your place
A series of online workshops will explore opportunities to collaborate and build research capabilities between the University of Nottingham’s UK, China and Malaysia campuses.
The next workshops are:
Sustainable food and agriculture
Thursday 9 October, 9.30am-10.30am (UK), 4.30pm-5.30pm (Malaysia and China)
Zero Carbon initiatives
Tuesday 4 November, 8.30am-9.30am (UK) 4.30pm-5.30pm (Malaysia and China)
Tackling global challenges: Universitas 21 workshop
The University of Nottingham welcomed more than 70 inspiring researchers from around the world to the Universitas 21 (U21) Early Career Researcher Workshop.
The annual event celebrates global collaboration and fosters connections between researchers seeking to work across disciplines and deliver solutions to complex global challenges.
Hosting this prestigious event underlines our commitment to supporting the next generation of research leaders and building collaborative networks across borders.
Explore how to commercialise your research with Dr Simon Hart
Following the success of our spring series, Entrepreneur in Residence sessions with Dr Simon Hart is returning from September through to December.
These the one-to-one sessions provide invaluable guidance on identifying commercial opportunities, protecting intellectual property, and accessing innovation funding.
FinTech commercialisation training
Ready to captivate investors and secure the funding you need? Join our upcoming training session and learn how to craft a powerful, persuasive pitch deck that gets results. This online session is from 1pm to 2.30pm, Monday 22 September.
Revised Code of Research Conduct and Research Ethics
Finally, please take a little time to read the revised Code of Research Conduct and Research Ethics, which reinforces our commitment to responsible, ethical, and high-quality research across all campuses and disciplines.
With best wishes and thanks for your continuing support,
Professor Ed Lester
Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Knowledge Exchange and Innovation
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