Commercialisation /
Enterprise Fellowships
A key priority for the RSE is to support entrepreneurship and the commercialisation of academic research to benefit the UK economy. Enterprise Fellowships, a prestigious flagship award for the RSE, has been operating for over 20 years and has supported over 260 entrepreneurs to date. Funded by Scottish Enterprise, BBSRC, STFC, the RSE CRF Fund and, most recently, IBioIC, the award forges key interactions between business and academia by fostering individuals to become world-class entrepreneurs and accelerating their science- and technology-based businesses. Each Enterprise Fellow receives 12 months of funding, including a salary, business support funding, expert business training and access to entrepreneurial mentors from the RSE Enterprise Fellowship and wider business community, while being hosted at a UK university or research institution. These allow them to focus solely on the development of their businesses and equip them with the skills necessary to succeed in today’s fast-paced global business environment.
Awardees 2020
Who
What
Where
Funded By
Dr Alexander McVey
What
ŌGI Bio Ltd - Offering customers an inexpensive route into routine microbial culturing on a system that is smaller and cheaper than current technology available.
Where
University of Edinburgh
Funded By
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Dr Marine Valton
What
BIO-F - Developing biofertilisers based on natural algae directly isolated from British farmers' fields, which capture atmospheric nitrogen and carbon that are shared with plants and therby act as a slow-release natural fertiliser while replenishing soil health and fertility.
Where
Imperial College London
Funded By
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Dr Simon Bennie
What
Dynamerse - Immersive virtual reality software allowing multiple researchers to step into scientific simulations whilst they are operating.
Where
University of Bristol
Funded By
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Dr Timothy Eyes
What
Manchester Biofactory - Enhancing the way new enzymes are developed by minimising the search space from millions to hundreds, making it easier to search and rapidly accelerate the discovery of vastly improved enzymes to produce leading, breakthrough products.
Where
University of Manchester
Funded By
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Dr Sunil Sharma
What
XGenix - Focusing on enzymes that can make Carbon-Halogen (C-X) bonds in a green and efficient manne, directing the exact position of C-X formation so that only one product is formed.
Where
University of St Andrews
Funded By
Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre
Dr Faisal Ghani
View Case StudyWhat
SolarisKit Ltd - A low-cost, flat-packable solar thermal collector, capable of converting sunlight directly into heat in the form of hot water to benefit the lives of millions of people in the developing world by providing clean, affordable energy, whilst reducing carbon emissions.
Where
Heriot-Watt University
Funded By
Royal Society of Edinburgh
Mr Jack Kennefick
What
Tagomics - Developing a novel, targeted, epigenetic profiling technology capable of providing epigenetic information on a genome wide scale to discover new cancer biomarkers, which will be capable of early detection and diagnosis of multiple cancers.
Where
University of Birmingham
Funded By
Royal Society of Edinburgh
Dr Steven Owens
What
Huli - Offering a completely different way of finding the best routes anywhere in the world for sports such as running, cycling and hiking.
Where
University of Strathclyde
Funded By
Royal Society of Edinburgh
Mr Hamish Geddes
What
Lenz Ltd - The application of hyperloop technology to railway locomotives; a sustainable solution that improves the overall safety of the railway system by optimising a locomotive's traction control, no matter what the weather.
Where
University of Edinburgh
Funded By
Royal Society of Edinburgh
Dr Ashton Barnett-Vanes
What
Javelin Health Ltd - An early-stage medical device start-up operating and developing a product within the intravascular cannula securement market.
Where
University of Edinburgh
Funded By
Royal Society of Edinburgh
Dr Carole Tucker
What
Cardiff Filter Technology - Producing multi-layer metal-mesh filters covering a broad range of wavelengths within next-generation aerospace applications using a cornerstone technology in terahertz science.
Where
Cardiff University
Funded By
Science and Technology Facilities Council
Dr Richard Gray
What
Lomond Nuclear Instruments - Developing a full suite of radiation detection technologies while introducing neutron and alpha systems to identify key radioactive emissions that pose unique challenges within the nucleur industry.
Where
University of Glasgow
Funded By
Science and Technology Facilities Council
266
entrepreneurs have been supported
2490
jobs have been created in the UK
42
UK academic institutions
93 %
of Enterprise Fellows start new businesses
25 %
of Enterprise Fellows have started multiple businesses
£ 9.74
Return on investment for every £1 spent
81 %
still operating after 5 years
Case Studies
Funded by:
