Training, Coaching and Mentoring for the Research Councils’ Business Plan Competition

The Research Councils’ Business Plan competition is a national competition open to academics across the entire remit of the eight UK Research Councils. Its uniqueness is derived from its breadth, independence and the emphasis on development of business skills for all entrants, regardless of whether the business idea will result in a spinout company or not.

Qi3 delivers the business training, coaching and mentoring for all entrants on behalf of RCUK. This involves a nationwide programme of two-day entrepreneurial skills development workshops and a comprehensive coaching and mentoring programme. Qi3’s uniqueness in delivering training services is its pragmatic business focus and understanding of the challenges faced by academic researchers in commercialising technology.

Further information is available for participants in stage one of the UK Research Councils' Business Plan Competition 2006. If you have not received your username and password, please call us on 01223 422410.

Technology Champions for RCUK Basic Technology Research Programme

The RCUK Basic Technology Research Programme is a £120m technology development fund. It supports academic research into underpinning technology capability that will enable future science. As Technology Champions for Research Councils UK (RCUK) we promote interdisciplinary research by facilitating interaction between people from a variety of research disciplines.

Recent initiatives have included work on molecular labelling, autonomous systems, environmental monitoring, high-resolution biology and hostile / extreme environments.

KITE Club Knowledge Exchange Advisory Service

As Knowledge Exchange Advisory Service , we promote industry and interdisciplinary engagement with research groups supported by the Science and Technology Facilities Council.

Within the scope of this work, we deliver an advice service for academics and companies seeking to engage in interdisciplinary partnerships. We deliver a series of workshops and brokering meetings within the aegis of the KITE Club . Our team working on this activity includes specific support for the aerospace, defence, security and space sector and for life sciences and healthcare technology. A specific function that we perform for Science and Technology Facilities Council is to ensure that the KITE Club is linked to other stakeholders in trade associations, regional clusters, other government departments and Research Councils.

Technologies developed in pursuit of the Science and Technology Facilities Council programme are typically at a high Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at the time at which they are deployed in astronomy, space science and particle physics experiments. We have had considerable success in transferring these technologies for use in a variety of industrial and other research applications.

Over the past six years, this service has been responsible for a significant change in the way in which Science and Technology Facilities Council engages with industry and with a significant portfolio of spinout companies, collaborative R&D and skills transfer projects.

UK Technology Transfer Officer for CERN

CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, has its headquarters in Geneva. The Technology Transfer group at CERN has a network of National Technology Transfer Officers in its member states. Qi3 holds the appointment as the UK representative.

CERN is particularly active in development in detectors, Information Technology, accelerators, cryogenics, superconductivity and vacuum technology. Within the scope of this appointment we have supported new spinout companies, licence agreements and collaborative research projects across a range of industry sectors. In 2004, we led a DTI GlobalWatch mission to CERN in Distributed Applications. The objective of this mission was to investigate the technology leadership of CERN in Grids and deployment of distributed applications.

Synergy Activities for BBSRC

One of our specialist capabilities is the development of interdisciplinary partnerships between physics, engineering and IT on the one hand and life sciences and healthcare technology on the other hand. We have organised several synergy activities to support the development of successful partnerships between academic and industrial organisations and between academics from the different sectors.

For example, in 2005, working on behalf of the BBSRC, we organised a workshop for the BBSRC, Science and Technology Facilities Council communities to promote partnerships in camera technology and biosignal analysis.

SchemeFinder Service for i10

i10 allows universities in the East of England to leverage their knowledge and expertise to provide business support in the region. It is a collaboration of 10 institutes, it offers advice on work placement, employment and research. For more information or to use these services visit the i10 website .

Qi3 has partnered with i10 to provide the SchemeFinder service.

SchemeFinder provides a “gateway” into Government and European Schemes and Programmes that support research, innovation, and technology transfer within the UK’s industry and academic base.

Joint hotline support is provided by Qi3 and i10.

Delivery of Instrumentation and Research Facilities Groups within the Sensors & Instrumentation Knowledge Transfer Network

Qi3 has joined the National Physical Laboratory as a managing partner for the Sensors & Instrumentation Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN), and has assumed specific responsibility for the operation of two new groups in Instrumentation and Research Facilities.

KTNs are part of the DTI Technology Programme, they are national forums designed to stimulate innovation in the UK’s key technology sectors by promoting collaboration, best practice, and knowledge sharing between industry and academia. By encouraging partnerships and teamwork, KTNs aim to position the UK as the innovation engine for Europe.

The Sensors & Instrumentation KTN was formed in 2005. It is the national network; uniting the talent and expertise of the whole of the UK’s sensing community, from academics and large industries, to small businesses, research councils, and government departments. It embraces all sensing activity, from fundamental measurement principles to instrumentation, data processing, devices, and innovative applications.

• The Instrumentation Group stimulates innovation within the advanced instrumentation sector, and supports this sector by encouraging enhanced linkages throughout the supply chain and between research organisations and industry;

• The Research Facilities Group improves UK industry engagement with scientific research facilities around the world in terms of both supply opportunity and Knowledge Transfer activity