What is a commercialisation opportunity?

You may identify opportunities during your research that you think could make a social or economic impact. This could be a new product, process, method, analytical technique, software program…in other words, something new that could make a difference to people’s lives and/or provide an advantage to a company. The process of making this happen is what we call commercialisation.

Contact us early....

If you think you have identified something (or you’re not sure if you have) then contact a member of our team – we’ll meet you and collect some details such as how the work arose, who was involved, any existing collaborations or commercial connections, and the stage of development of the work. Demonstrations, proofs of concept and any published (or in-draft) materials will help us to decide how to work with you to move this forward.

One thing to bear in mind, particularly where the work is of a scientific or technological nature, is that you should chat to us before any public disclosure of the work – that includes papers, conference presentations, seminars, theses, webpages, posters, exhibitions, open days or any event involving people external to the University.  Public disclosure of an invention means it can no longer be regarded as novel, and therefore may not be able to be patented. Patents are important as they protect the interests of partners and investors; we can work with you to help ensure  that we don’t unduly delay the normal process of academic publication.

We can also provide guidance and support to translate your ideas towards commercialisation.