̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Cambridge Network

Cambridge joins forces with ARIA to fast-track radical new technologies to revolutionise brain health

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 12:57:22 +0000

̽��ֱ��collaboration, which includes researchers from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, aims to accelerate progress on new neuro-technologies, including miniaturised brain implants designed to treat depression, dementia, chronic pain, epilepsy and injuries to the nervous system.

Neurological and mental health disorders will affect four in every five people in their lifetimes, and present a greater overall health burden than cancer and cardiovascular disease combined. For example, 28 million people in the UK are living with chronic pain and 1.3 million people with traumatic brain injury.

Neuro-technology – where technology is used to control the nervous system - has the potential to deliver new treatments for these disorders, in much the same way that heart pacemakers, cochlear implants and spinal implants have transformed medicine in recent decades.

̽��ֱ��technology can be in the form of electronic brain implants that reset abnormal brain activity or help deliver targeted drugs more effectively, brain-computer interfaces that control prosthetic limbs, or technologies that train the patient’s own cells to fight disease. ARIA’s Scalable Neural Interfaces opportunity space is exploring ways to make the technology more precise, less invasive, and applicable to a broader range of diseases.

Currently, an implant can only interact with large groups of neurons, the cells that transmit information around the brain. Building devices that interact with single neurons will mean a more accurate treatment. Neuro-technologies also have the potential to treat autoimmune disorders, including rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease and type-1 diabetes.

̽��ֱ��science of building technology small enough, precise enough and cheap enough to make a global impact requires an environment where the best minds from across the UK can collaborate, dream up radical, risky ideas and test them without fear of failure.

Professor George Malliaras from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge’s Department of Engineering is one of the project leaders. “Miniaturised devices have the potential to change the lives of millions of people currently suffering from neurological conditions and diseases where drugs have no effect,” he said. “But we are working at the very edge of what is possible in medicine, and it is hard to find the support and funding to try radical, new things. That is why the partnership with ARIA is so exhilarating, because it is giving brilliant people the tools to turn their original ideas into commercially viable devices that are cheap enough to have a global impact.”

Cambridge’s partnership with ARIA will create a home for original thinkers who are struggling to find the funding, space and mentoring needed to stress-test their radical ideas. ̽��ֱ��three-year partnership is made up of two programmes:

̽��ֱ��Fellowship Programme (up to 18 fellowships)

Blue Sky Fellows – a UK-wide offer - we will search the UK for people from any background, with a radical idea in this field and the plan and personal skills to develop it. ̽��ֱ��best people will be offered a fellowship with the funding to test their ideas in Cambridge rapidly. These Blue Sky Fellows will receive mentorship from our best medical, scientific and business experts and potentially be offered accommodation at a Cambridge college. We will be looking for a specific type of person to be a Blue Sky Fellow. They must be the kind of character who thinks at the very edge of the possible, who doesn’t fear failure, and whose ideas have the potential to change billions of lives, yet would struggle to find funding from existing sources. Not people who think outside the box, more people who don’t see a box at all.

Activator Fellows - a UK-wide offer - those who have already proved that their idea can work, yet need support to turn it into a business, will be invited to become Activator Fellows. They will be offered training in entrepreneurial skills including grant writing, IP management and clinical validation, so their innovation can be ready for investment.

̽��ֱ��Ecosystem Programme

̽��ֱ��Ecosystem Programme is about creating a vibrant, UK-wide neurotechnology community where leaders from business, science, engineering, academia and the NHS can meet, spark ideas and form collaborations. This will involve quarterly events in Cambridge, road trip events across the UK and access to the thriving online Cambridge network, Connect: Health Tech.

“This unique partnership is all about turning radical ideas into practical, low-cost solutions that change lives,” said Kristin-Anne Rutter, Executive Director of Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Health Partners. “Cambridge is fielding its best team to make this work and using its networks to bring in the best people from all over the UK. From brilliant scientists to world-leading institutes, hospitals and business experts, everyone in this collaboration is committed to the ARIA partnership because, by working together, we all see an unprecedented opportunity to make a real difference in the world.”

“Physical and mental illnesses and diseases that affect the brain such as dementia are some of the biggest challenges we face both as individuals and as a society,” said Dr Ben Underwood, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust. “This funding will bring together different experts doing things at the very limits of science and developing new technology to improve healthcare. We hope this new partnership with the NHS will lead to better care and treatment for people experiencing health conditions.”

Cambridge partners in the project include the Departments of Engineering and Psychiatry, Cambridge Neuroscience, the Milner Therapeutics Institute, the Maxwell Centre, Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Health Partners (CUHP), Cambridge Network, the Babraham Research Campus, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, and Vellos.

A team from across the Cambridge life sciences, technology and business worlds has announced a multi-million-pound, three-year collaboration with the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA), the UK government’s new research funding agency.

Science Photo Library via Getty Images

Illustration of human brain

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̽��ֱ��Cambridge networker

skbf2 — Thu, 10 Mar 2022 10:11:22 +0000

'Enterprising mind', David Cleevely, one of the architects of Cambridge's world-leading innovation ecosystem, on the secrets of entrepreneurial success and why Cambridge is a great place to start a new venture.

Opinion: What makes the Cambridge cluster special?

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 09:59:27 +0000

More than 60,000 people are employed in the so-called ‘Cambridge cluster’ of companies, and in excess of £12 billion in turnover is generated annually by the 4,700 knowledge-intensive firms in and around the city. ̽��ֱ��innovation that underpins the cluster is impressive – the city publishes 341 patents per 100,000 residents (that's more than the next four cities in the UK combined).

In my role, I am in the privileged position of having a general overview of how Cambridge’s entrepreneurial ecosystem works. When I took up this new post, I had heard that the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Cambridge is complex, fragmented and difficult to navigate. But now, I would argue that there is a logic and coherence to the Cambridge ecosystem, and what makes it work is that the structure exists, yet it is constantly evolving.

As one of the world’s leading universities, we are a big part of the cluster and we have a long tradition of innovation and entrepreneurship: there are more than 40 different programmes, groups and activities run by students, researchers, departments and Colleges, to support enterprise at Cambridge. These fall into five broad categories: research & people, finance & IP, space, skills and capability development, and networks.

Research & People
̽��ֱ��foundation of everything we do is great people doing great research. Through their work, people at all levels in the ̽��ֱ��, from students to postdocs to faculty, are pushing the boundaries of human knowledge.

Finance and IP
When research leads to new ideas and insights, Cambridge Enterprise, the ̽��ֱ��’s technology transfer arm, helps staff and students find the best way to turn their ideas into reality for the benefit of the global community. Cambridge Enterprise provides IP protection when appropriate, helps individuals undertake consultancy for external organisations, protects and licences technologies, and invests seed funds in new companies.

As a company grows, it will need additional financing, and Cambridge-based funders such as Cambridge Innovation Capital, Cambridge Angels, Amadeus Capital Partners, Cambridge Capital Group, IQ Capital or the IP Group, can all provide support.

Physical space
Organisations don't just need money: they also need space to grow. When entrepreneurs are first thinking of a business model, they can take a desk in ideaSpace. We have three ideaSpaces across the ̽��ֱ�� - each provides space for a community of entrepreneurs who can assist each other as they develop their ideas. If the organisation is successful and starts to grow, there are follow-on spaces around the city, such as St John's innovation Centre or the Bradfield Centre. ̽��ֱ��Babraham Research Campus provides space for bio-medical firms - currently, there are 60 firms on the Babraham site, with a waiting list. Eventually, a growing organisation might move to the Cambridge Science Park.

Of course, there are other types of space that matter. Makespace provides a community workshop where people can create prototypes. ̽��ֱ��local consultants, especially the technology consultants, provide prototyping and design support. Cambridge Consultants and ̽��ֱ��Technology Partnership both play a crucial role in the Cambridge ecosystem.

Skills and capability development
Departments and groups across the ̽��ֱ�� run programmes and initiatives to help entrepreneurs develop their organisations and their personal capabilities. Lectures and networking are provided by Enterprise Tuesday, a scheme run by the Cambridge Judge Business School. Cambridge Judge also runs Accelerate, a start-up accelerator programme, and Ignite, an intensive one-week training programme for aspiring entrepreneurs and corporate innovators to trial and prepare business ideas for the commercial environment.

̽��ֱ��Maxwell Centre runs Impulse, a programme designed to help entrepreneurs translate their ideas into reality. Increasingly, groups are seeking to run scale-up programmes, supporting businesses as they grow. Cambridge Judge runs a scale-up programme in collaboration with Barclays, while Cambridge Network runs a school for scale-ups.

Connected Cambridge
̽��ֱ��final element is the multiple networks in Cambridge that bring people together. For example, Cambridge Wireless connects people interested in the Internet of Things; Cambridge Network connects local businesses, and Cambridge Ahead supports the long-term growth of Cambridge.

Of course, our students are a vital source of ideas, and student societies and associations - including CUE - Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Entrepreneurs, CUTEC - Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Technology and Enterprise Club and EPOC - Entrepreneurial Post-Docs of Cambridge – bring our entrepreneurial students and postdocs together.

These and other networks and initiatives all help bring the community together and support people as they seek to make the right connections. In Cambridge it is relatively easy to reach others - entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and academics - because of the interconnected nature of the city and the institutions it houses.

̽��ֱ��entrepreneurial ecosystem works in Cambridge because it contains all five of these elements. But this isn’t the whole story. Cambridge is also successful because the people within the ecosystem are constantly innovating to improve it. Whenever somebody spots a gap - or a perceived gap - they try to fill it. We have a Makespace in Cambridge - a community workshop where people can make and repair things. Entrepreneurs use this to create prototypes for new products. Recently we launched a Biomakespace - in recognition of the need for a bio-prototyping facility. ̽��ֱ��Judge Business School runs a Social Venture Incubator, designed to help people grow social ventures, and partners with Cambridge Enterprise to support social ventures through a seed fund.

Each of these new initiatives was launched to fill a perceived gap in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, and by filling this gap the ecosystem becomes stronger. This innovation in the ecosystem means that we are always trying to make the ecosystem in Cambridge better. We are constantly experimenting with the ways in which we work.

̽��ֱ��cluster is now so well-established that the level of entrepreneurial activity in Cambridge has become self-propagating. ̽��ֱ��fact that so many people are involved in enterprise, entrepreneurship and innovation encourages others to participate. This makes Cambridge “a safe place to fail” - a phrase coined by one of our local entrepreneurs, Andy Richards. ̽��ֱ��level of activity means that even if your first venture fails, there will always be something else for you to go and try, so in essence, the entrepreneurial ecosystem provides a safety net for those who choose to get involved in it. This is what makes Cambridge such an interesting and welcoming place for enterprise.

Andy Neely is Cambridge’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Enterprise and Business Relations, a role which oversees the ̽��ֱ��’s activities in innovation, commercialisation and entrepreneurship. After six months in the role, he sees an entrepreneurial ecosystem that may appear complex at first – but a deeper examination reveals a combination of knowledge, expertise, support and infrastructure that makes Cambridge one of the most enterprising and entrepreneurial cities in the world.

Sir Cam

Hauser Forum

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

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