̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Tony Raven

Two new initiatives to boost economic value from university research

Anonymous — Thu, 16 Jul 2020 08:00:00 +0000

̽��ֱ��grants, from the Research England Development (RED) Fund, will support two new programmes: TenU and a new Policy Evidence Unit for ̽��ֱ�� Commercialisation and Innovation (UCI), which will be based at Cambridge’s Institute for Manufacturing (IfM).

TenU will bring together the heads of technology transfer offices (TTOs) from ten of the world’s leading universities to share expertise and experience to develop, improve, and disseminate best practice in research commercialisation. UCI will undertake research to create the evidence base for informing research commercialisation policy for government and universities. ̽��ֱ��two groups will work closely in areas of mutual interest.

Research from the TenU universities has led to world-changing innovations such as rapid whole-genome sequencing, the page rank algorithm technology that became the basis for Google, the world’s first artificial vaccine against viral hepatitis B, fibre optics, one of the most widely used medications for HIV treatment, and programmed T cell therapies.

As countries work to rebuild their economies in the wake of COVID-19, university TTOs will play a critical role in turning early-stage, research-based innovations into new products and services across different sectors. In the UK, the Industrial Strategy has identified universities as key drivers of innovation.

“We welcome this vital support from Research England, which enables us to continue to share, compare, and advance international best practice in university research commercialisation for the benefit of our economies and societies locally, nationally, and globally,” said Tony Raven, CEO of Cambridge Enterprise, the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge’s commercialisation arm.

Apart from Cambridge, the other members of TenU are Columbia, Edinburgh, Imperial College London, Leuven, Manchester, MIT, Stanford, Oxford, and ̽��ֱ�� College London.

̽��ֱ��Policy Evidence Unit for ̽��ֱ�� Commercialisation and Innovation (UCI), based at Cambridge’s Institute for Manufacturing, will help to drive a step change in universities’ contributions to delivering increased R&D and innovation in the UK.

̽��ֱ��new unit will be developed in partnership with the Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (CSTI) and the National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB). It will support the needs of government departments, funding agencies, and universities for better data, evidence, and expert insights, to develop more effective approaches for university commercialisation and innovation.

̽��ֱ��needs for better evidence are growing as we move from the immediate COVID-19 crisis into the longer-term economic recovery period, and as the government looks to maximise the value realised from its investment in the research base. Universities need to find new ways of working with businesses, investors and others to open up opportunities, address emerging innovation challenges, and improve productivity. To unlock this potential, governments will have to adapt policies and funding programmes to become key enabling partners in this process.

Working closely with key stakeholders, UCI will initially focus on three areas:

Developing an evidence base on how the COVID-19 induced economic crisis is affecting universities’ abilities to contribute to innovation and identify possible actions to ensure they are able to play a strategic and active role in the national economic recovery.
Improving our understanding of the research-to-innovation commercialisation journeys and examine how policies and university practices could be strengthened to deliver increased value to the UK.
Advancing the data and metrics available to better capture the performance of universities in delivering economic and social impacts through their commercialisation activities to facilitate more effective benchmarking and evaluation of performance.

Tomas Ulrichsen, Director of the new Policy Evidence Unit for ̽��ֱ�� Commercialisation and Innovation, said: “I am delighted to bring expertise from CSTI, the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, and NCUB together to establish this important new policy evidence unit. ̽��ֱ��grant from the Research England Development Fund will enable us to support policymakers, funders, and universities with better and more targeted evidence and expert insight, to consider how to build on and adapt their approaches to university-driven commercialisation and innovation. This will help economies across the UK recover, reconfigure, and thrive through the economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“In line with the UK Government’s R&D Roadmap, Research England as part of UK Research and Innovation needs to demonstrate we are world class at securing economic and social benefits from research,” said David Sweeney, Executive Chair of Research England. “ ̽��ֱ�� technology transfer is at the heart of that. Research England funding for TenU will help showcase best practice at the global cutting edge, with the new UCI policy unit providing critical evidence and metrics. We look forward to deepening these international links.”

Research England has awarded two grants, totalling £1.5 million, to support programmes working to increase the economic value and social impacts from university research, both in the UK and internationally. ̽��ֱ��funds will be administered by the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge.

Photo by Joshua Sortino on Unsplash

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Cambridge and Shandong ̽��ֱ�� sign agreement to support innovation and entrepreneurship

sc604 — Thu, 31 May 2018 13:18:21 +0000

̽��ֱ��agreement between Cambridge and Shandong Universities was signed earlier this week, and will establish the Shandong ̽��ֱ�� School of Innovation Intermediary and the Innovation Institute in Qingdao. Qingdao is the largest city in Shandong province and supports a rapidly-growing high-tech sector: Shandong ̽��ֱ�� opened a campus there in 2017. ̽��ֱ��new school will be supported by Cambridge Enterprise, the ̽��ֱ��’s commercialisation arm, Shandong ̽��ֱ�� and Qingdao Municipal Government.

̽��ֱ��signing ceremony was witnessed by Professor Fan Liming, President of Shandong ̽��ֱ�� and Professor Eilís Ferran, Cambridge’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Institutional and International Relations.

As part of the agreement, Cambridge will bring its expertise in commercialisation to aid technology transfer processes and encourage entrepreneurship in Shandong Province. ̽��ֱ��two universities will explore ways to improve interactions, build a world-class institution and cultivate talent. They will also support faculty and students to put their results into practice.

“We will help to establish an enterprise team in Qingdao and share our experience and knowledge to help businesses innovate and thrive, improve the university campus and support the city’s development,” said Dr Tony Raven, chief executive of Cambridge Enterprise.

In her speech, President Fan Liming said that innovation and technology transfer are of great importance to the university’s development and its responsibility to give back to society. ̽��ֱ��signing of the agreement is an important beginning for the two universities to promote the construction of the School.

With the support of Qingdao government, both sides will work closely to promote the development of the School in accordance with the framework and plans that both have agreed upon. It will help to contribute to the social and economic development both at local and national levels, and will also enhance the people-to-people exchanges between China and the UK. Professor Ferran expressed her appreciation to President Fan Liming for her strong support to the cooperation between the two universities.

“Cambridge attaches great importance to the cooperation with Shandong ̽��ֱ��,” she said. “This agreement will deepen the relationship between our two universities and our two countries through the collaboration of universities, industry and governments.”

Tony Raven, the CEO of Cambridge Enterprise, and Sun Fengshou, Director of the Department of International Affairs of Shandong ̽��ֱ��, signed the agreement.

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge has signed an agreement with one of China’s largest universities to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship in one of China’s fastest-growing high-tech clusters.

L-R: Professor Eilís Ferran, Dr Tony Raven, Sun Fengshou, Professor Fan Liming

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Cambridge Enterprise announces 2012 results

hps25 — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 13:44:01 +0000

Cambridge Enterprise works with ̽��ֱ�� inventors and entrepreneurs to get young, high-risk companies to the stage where they can attract outside investment, through mentoring, planning advice and seed funding.

̽��ֱ��£1 billion funding figure, which can be found in the full end-of-year report, shows that many go on to flourish despite the uncertain basis on which they start out. Indeed, the new results also show that the three-year survival rate for companies receiving investment from Cambridge Enterprise is 80 per cent, compared with the national average of 58 per cent.

“Cambridge spin-outs are developing solutions in cancer treatment, renewable energy and in vitro fertilisation,” said Dr Tony Raven, Chief Executive of Cambridge Enterprise. “ ̽��ֱ��amount of follow-on funding raised demonstrates the market’s confidence in our portfolio companies, and also shows the importance of the early-stage support and funding which Cambridge Enterprise provides.”

One of the most successful companies in the Cambridge Enterprise portfolio is BlueGnome, which was co-founded by Dr Nick Haan, a former PhD student and post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Engineering. ̽��ֱ��company, which is one of the fastest-growing biotechnology companies in the UK, has developed technology which has been shown to increase IVF success rates by 65% over current methods. In September 2012, it was acquired by US-based life sciences company Illumina for $95 million. ̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ��’s proceeds from the sale will be returned to the ‘evergreen’ seed funds managed by Cambridge Enterprise, and will support the next generation of Cambridge spin-outs.

One important area of future growth is stem cells. ̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� is a world leader in stem cell research, and commercial opportunities are now starting to be developed. DefiniGEN, founded by a group of researchers from the Anne McLaren Laboratory of Regenerative Medicine led by Dr Ludovic Vallier, is supplying stem cells to the drug discovery and regenerative medicine sectors, where they will be used to model a range of diseases and accelerate the development of new treatments.

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� is at the heart of one of the most productive technology clusters in the world. ̽��ֱ��1,500 companies in the cluster have a combined annual turnover of £11.8 billion and employ more than 53,000 people. ̽��ֱ��vast majority of these companies are connected to the ̽��ֱ�� in some way: they are either based directly on ̽��ֱ�� research, are founded or staffed by ̽��ֱ�� graduates, or work collaboratively with ̽��ֱ�� researchers to find solutions to business problems.

̽��ֱ��Cambridge Enterprise team supports more than 1,000 ̽��ֱ�� researchers at all stages of the commercialisation process, from forming new companies to supporting translational funding applications. Supporting ̽��ֱ�� researchers in obtaining the funding to progress their research has become an important area for Cambridge Enterprise: this year, more than £17.5 in translational funding was won by ̽��ֱ�� researchers with the support of the team. This funding is helping develop new therapies and treatments for conditions which affect millions worldwide, including liver disease, chronic pain and healthcare-associated infections.

Cambridge Enterprise’s total income from licensing, consultancy and equity transactions for the year ending 31 July 2012 exceeded £9.1 million, with £7.5 million of that amount returned to the ̽��ֱ��, departments and researchers. ̽��ֱ��team completed 84 licences, signed 201 consultancy contracts and returned more than £162,000 to its seed funds.

More than £1 billion in funding has been raised by companies with roots in Cambridge research, according to year-end results from Cambridge Enterprise, the ̽��ֱ��’s commercialisation arm.

̽��ֱ��amount of follow-on funding raised demonstrates the market’s confidence in our portfolio companies, and also shows the importance of the early-stage support and funding which Cambridge Enterprise provides.

Tony Raven

Ludovic Vallier

Differentiation of human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (hIPSC) to functional liver hepatocyte cells

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