̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Research England

Cambridge recognised for its leadership in knowledge exchange

Anonymous — Tue, 27 Sep 2022 11:05:29 +0000

Cambridge secured the highest performance scores in many areas of knowledge exchange, with very high engagement for intellectual property (IP) commercialisation, research partnerships, working with business, and working with the public and third sectors.

̽��ֱ��KEF provides a range of information about the knowledge exchange activities of English higher education institutions – in other words, how each institution works with external partners, from businesses to community groups, for the benefit of the economy and society.

When compared with its peer group in cluster ‘V’ (very large, research-intensive universities), Cambridge shows:

very high engagement for research partnerships, as measured by co-authorship with non-academic partners and contributions to collaborative research
very high engagement for IP and commercialisation, and working with business
very high engagement for working with the public and third sector, as measured by income from contract research, consultancy and the provision of facilities and equipment services to these partners
high engagement for public and community engagement in line with the cluster average.

Professor Andy Neely, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Enterprise and Business Relations at Cambridge, said: “ ̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge has a fantastically rich knowledge exchange ecosystem. Here, unique and constantly-evolving support systems, physical spaces and development opportunities exist to enable the pursuit, dissemination and application of world-leading research and knowledge for the benefit of society.

“This ecosystem, together with productive relationships with our industry partners, many of them stretching back over decades with a shared history of innovation, and the many opportunities for public engagement, helps ensure that Cambridge is a vibrant and welcoming place for knowledge exchange.”

Dr Karen Kennedy, Director of the Strategic Partnerships Office, added: “By working in partnership with businesses and other organisations, we are able to turn our research into new technologies, therapeutics and applications that will make a positive difference to people’s lives, both in the UK and around the world. ̽��ֱ��KEF has an important role to play in highlighting the value of such collaborations and we are delighted that Cambridge has been recognised for its strength in this regard.”

Partnerships

Combining expertise at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge with the insights, resources and capabilities of commercial partners enhances the ability to change lives through, for example, pioneering new cures for disease, making breakthroughs in energy transition and shaping a more sustainable, more equitable future.

This has led, for instance, to the launch of the Cambridge Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine in partnership with AstraZeneca and GSK, the creation of a recruitment programme for neurodiverse individuals in partnership with Aviva, and a partnership with KPMG to look at the future of work, starting with mental wellbeing.

With support from Cambridge Zero, which aims to maximise the ̽��ֱ��’s contribution towards achieving a resilient and sustainable zero-carbon world, work has been ongoing to establish broad academic–industry networks to promote wider collaborations in key decarbonisation challenge areas. In addition, a partnership with South Korean investment group WP Investment Company (WPIC) is seeking to progress research in sustainable energy systems, particularly the production of lithium and its use in batteries for electric vehicles.

Commercialisation

Cambridge scored highly for its IP commercialisation, in part because of work done by Cambridge Enterprise, the ̽��ֱ��’s commercialisation arm. Cambridge Enterprise works with academics to protect, develop and move innovations based on ̽��ֱ�� research toward the market. Early stage innovations are licensed to existing companies for development or spun out as new companies. ̽��ֱ��goal is getting early stage ideas out of labs and into use, for the benefit of society and the economy.

Dr Diarmuid O'Brien, Chief Executive of Cambridge Enterprise, said: “ ̽��ֱ�� research and innovation have a vital role to play in confronting huge global challenges such as climate change. That is our mission, to help the ̽��ֱ��’s researchers bring positive change to the world through their research.”

In the financial year 2020-2021, Cambridge Enterprise approved £5.7m of investments in 21 companies, 7 of which were at seed stage. Among these were three companies developing new technologies focused on reducing carbon emissions – Nyobolt, Echion Technologies and Carbon Re. These three companies collectively raised over £20 million of investment and are helping to move the world to a more sustainable future.

Cambridge Enterprise is part of an extensive support infrastructure that helps postdocs, academics and staff plan, launch and fund successful ventures. Cambridge Enterprise and the Entrepreneurial Postdocs of Cambridge, for instance, together run an annual Postdoc Business Plan Competition designed to help accelerate the creation of businesses based on Cambridge research.

Now in its eighth year, the competition has led 73 teams through a programme of training, mentoring and business plan iteration. These 73 teams have gone on to raise over £69 million in investment. Among the winners of the competition is Dr Giorgia Longobardi (pictured), whose spin-out Cambridge GaN Devices has developed a range of power devices using the energy-efficient semiconductor gallium nitride, heralding a new era of greener electronics. ̽��ֱ��£20,000 first prize in 2016 was invested in, and helped accelerate, the company.

Public engagement

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ��’s public engagement activities were also rated highly. Public engagement fulfils the ̽��ֱ��’s mission by creating bridges between researchers and the public, locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. Partnerships with civic organisations, charities, and arts and community groups help build and maintain relationships with our local communities.

Dr Lucinda Spokes, Head of Public Engagement, said: “Training and advice underpins everything we do. This provides researchers with the skills and confidence to work collaboratively with their communities and stakeholders sharing expertise to co-produce knowledge, improve research outcomes and deliver wider societal benefit.”

̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Museums and Botanic Garden (UCM), along with the flagship Cambridge Festival, open up the ̽��ֱ��'s research and Collections to all, with over one million people visiting exhibitions, talks and activities each year. UCM enables significant contributions to connecting with some of the most vulnerable communities, reducing loneliness, enhancing health and wellbeing, and supporting the development of children and young people.

Digital public engagement, driven by necessity at the start of the pandemic, provided the ̽��ֱ�� with new ways to engage with people both locally and globally. Since 2021, digital engagement as part of the Cambridge Festival has resulted in over 150K views of research-led content by audiences in over 170 countries.

KEF

̽��ֱ��KEF has been developed by Research England, a public body who fund Higher Education Institutions to undertake research and knowledge exchange.

David Sweeney CBE, Executive Chair of Research England, said: “Knowledge exchange is integral to the mission and purpose of our universities, and its importance in contributing to societal and economic prosperity is strongly supported by the Government.

“Today’s new version of the Knowledge Exchange Framework takes further forward the vision and potential of KE activity, providing richer evidence to demonstrate universities’ strengths in different areas when set alongside their peers.”

Cambridge’s leadership in knowledge exchange has been recognised in the Knowledge Exchange Framework 2 (KEF2) results, published by Research England on 27 September 2022.

“ ̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge has a fantastically rich knowledge exchange ecosystem. Here, unique and constantly-evolving support systems, physical spaces and development opportunities exist to enable the pursuit, dissemination and application of world-leading research and knowledge for the benefit of society"

Andy Neely

StillVision

Dr Giorgia Longobardi, winner of a Cambridge Enterprise Postdoc Business Plan Competition

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New Heart and Lung Research Institute opens

cjb250 — Mon, 11 Jul 2022 06:31:58 +0000

A major new institute opens today, bringing together the largest concentration of scientists and clinicians in heart and lung medicine in Europe.

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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Ground-breaking ceremony celebrates start of construction work on new Heart and Lung Research Institute in Cambridge

cjb250 — Thu, 27 Feb 2020 10:23:56 +0000

̽��ֱ��HLRI, a joint venture between the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, aims to focus on collaboration between research and its clinical use in treating patients for chronic diseases such as heart attacks, cystic fibrosis, atrial fibrillation and pulmonary hypertension.

In the UK, one in every four deaths is caused by cardiovascular disease and 20% of deaths by respiratory disease. Despite a growing awareness of risk factors, such as smoking and poor diet, the prevalence of such diseases is increasing.

According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular disease causes nearly 18 million deaths per year, mostly due to heart attacks and stroke, with respiratory disease just behind. ̽��ֱ��combined worldwide cost of this is more than £840billion each year.

“ ̽��ֱ��Heart and Lung Research Institute is an incredible opportunity to bring together the ̽��ֱ��’s expertise in cardiovascular and respiratory science and Royal Papworth Hospital’s expertise in treating heart and lung disease,” said Professor Nick Morrell from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, who is Interim Director of the Institute.

“Heart and lung diseases affect many millions of people worldwide and the numbers are growing. Institutes such as ours, focused on these big health challenges, are urgently needed. ̽��ֱ��discoveries made by our researchers will deliver major benefits to the public through improvements in public health, new approaches to diagnosing and treating disease, and new medicines.”

Features of the Institute include: a new laboratory space; a clinical research facility; a collaboration space for link-ups between academia, healthcare providers and industry; and education facilities such as seminar rooms and a lecture theatre. It will also include a special 10-bed facility where the first-in-patient studies of new treatments can be conducted.

Professor John Wallwork, Chairman of Royal Papworth, added: “ ̽��ֱ��Heart and Lung Research Institute will mean new treatments will be created, tested and delivered to tackle the biggest causes of premature death in the world all on one site. It will also allow us to provide much more education and training to clinicians tackling heart and lung disease worldwide.

“This will be a huge step forward and demonstrates one of the reasons Royal Papworth Hospital moved to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus – to collaborate with the best researchers in the world to help to save lives. Through the Heart and Lung Research Institute, we will be able to make even quicker progress in bringing tomorrow’s treatments to today’s patients.”

Funding for HLRI is being provided by the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund, which has contributed £30m, the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and the Wolfson Foundation. ̽��ֱ��British Heart Foundation has donated £10m towards the project and Royal Papworth Hospital Charity has launched its largest ever appeal to raise £5m.

Professor Wallwork added: “Every day at Royal Papworth Hospital we see the positive impact that research can have for patients with heart and lung disease, both in terms of improving life expectancy and quality of life. We have already received a number of generous donations from Royal Papworth Hospital patients and their families in support of the Heart and Lung Research Institute and will be working hard to raise additional funds over the next few years.”

Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation said: “Through this funding we will help create a fantastic centre that will have a key role in driving forward our ambitious programme of heart and circulatory research. By bringing together world-leading scientists it will enable exciting opportunities for collaboration between researchers from different disciplines. And it will also accelerate the transformation of discoveries in the laboratory to treatments available at patients’ bedside.

“This grant is one of the largest the BHF has ever made and we have only been able to make this investment because of the incredible generosity of the public.”

̽��ֱ��Cystic Fibrosis Trust has also committed to raise up to £5million to fund the Cystic Fibrosis Innovation Hub, which launched last year and will transfer to the new building once it has been completed. AstraZeneca will pursue integrated research programmes with the Institute to maximise translational impact.

Groundwork began back in October 2019 with construction starting in January 2020. Piling work for the 22m deep foundations is currently underway, including the formation of a tunnel, which will link the HLRI to neighbouring Royal Papworth Hospital.

There are currently 35 people working on the site with that number due to reach more than 150 at the peak of construction, which is set for completion in early 2022.

Press release from Royal Papworth Hospital.

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Royal Papworth Hospital held an official ground-breaking ceremony at the new Heart and Lung Research Institute (HLRI) in Cambridge earlier today. ̽��ֱ��Institute is based on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and will create the largest cardiothoracic centre for research, education, industry collaboration, and clinical care in Europe.

̽��ֱ��Heart and Lung Research Institute is an incredible opportunity to bring together the ̽��ֱ��’s expertise in cardiovascular and respiratory science and Royal Papworth Hospital’s expertise in treating heart and lung disease

Nick Morrell

Royal Papworth Hospital

Groundbreaking for the new Heart and Lung Research Institute

Yes

̽��ֱ�� Enterprise Zone aims to drive innovation across Cambridge

cjb250 — Fri, 20 Sep 2019 09:01:19 +0000

Research England, part of UK Research and Innovation, today announced 20 new ̽��ֱ�� Enterprise Zones (UEZs) aimed at helping universities stimulate growth in their local economies, providing vital support for innovative new companies and creating jobs in emerging industries. ̽��ֱ��£20 million investment will strengthen collaborative ties between universities and businesses.

Cambridge’s UEZ, Greater Cambridge Health Tech Connect, will look at testing and integrating inter-disciplinary models of incubation across West Cambridge, where many of the ̽��ֱ��’s physical sciences and engineering departments, including the Maxwell Centre and the Institute for Manufacturing, are based, and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in the South. It will address real world challenges, including unmet medical needs, using innovative thinking across disciplines.

“Our aim is to create new ways of collaborating across physics, technology, engineering, biology and medicine and use this to drive innovation in healthcare, manufacturing and engineering,” explains Dr Kathryn Chapman, Deputy Director at the Milner Therapeutics Institute.

“This Enterprise Zone will explore and scale up new and existing models of business incubation, strengthening the interdisciplinary bridge between two major Cambridge research hubs. This will drive new research and development, and deliver a model that can be applied more widely to support company incubation.”

̽��ֱ��announcement has been welcomed by Professor Andy Neely, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Enterprise and Business Relations at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, who led the application. “Cambridge has a rich history of scientific discovery and innovation, and its innovation ecosystem is recognised as world leading. This new government funding will help us build and strengthen connections across often very different disciplines, further accelerating innovation across the city and beyond.”

Funding for the UEZs has been announced alongside an investment of £78 million in the second wave of UK Research and Innovation’s Future Leaders Fellowships. Dr Daniel Field from the Department of Earth Sciences and Dr Jamie Blundell from the Department of Oncology have both been named as recipients of new funding.

Universities Minister Chris Skidmore said: “Delivering on our research and innovation ambitions means putting people first, whether they are just starting out in their career or are leading major projects in academia or industry.

“These inspirational Future Leaders Fellows will generate the ideas of the future, helping to shape science and research for the 21st century. But to realise the full potential of these discoveries, their ideas need to be taken out of the lab and turned into real products and services, where they can actually change people’s lives for the better.

“That’s why we are creating 20 new ̽��ֱ�� Enterprise Zones, helping local start-ups to co-locate in universities to build the businesses of the future – all inspired by university research.”

Update 2021:

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� Enterprise Zone has now launched.

Cambridge is to establish a ̽��ֱ�� Enterprise Zone as part of a new government initiative announced today by Universities Minister Chris Skidmore.

Cambridge has a rich history of scientific discovery and innovation, and its innovation ecosystem is recognised as world leading. This new government funding will help us build and strengthen connections across often very different disciplines, further accelerating innovation across the city and beyond

Andy Neely

Aerial view of Cambridge Biomedical Campus

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