INSIGHTS / News

Image (from left to right): Shavi Pahar, SETsquared Southampton; Lisa McMullan; Sean Fielding, Director of Innovation, Impact and Business at University of Exeter; Alan Scrase, SETsquared Southampton; Debbie Buckley-Golder, Innovate UK; Don Spalinger, Director of Research and Innovation Services at University of Southampton; Simon Brown; Nigel Walker, Innovate UK

SETsquared, the global number one business incubator has scooped the Times Higher Education Leadership and Management Award (THELMA) for Knowledge Exchange/Transfer Initiative of the Year.

The prestigious national award, announced on 23 June at the Grosvenor House Hotel, recognised the SETsquared Partnership for its successful Innovation and Commercialisation of University Research (ICURe) programme which has been a game-changer in helping university researchers to get their ideas out of the laboratory and into the marketplace.

Don Spalinger, Director of Research and Innovation Services at the University of Southampton, said:

“We’re delighted to receive this award for our SETsquared Knowledge Exchange initiative. The ICURe programme has already led to the launch of some 27 new companies that have validated high growth markets for their products and services, including BluPoint Ltd, Accelercom, and Trimunocor. ICURe is not just about start-up companies, all of the 78 research teams that have participated in the programme so far have a clear understanding of what the marketplace needs and how their research can meet those needs with collaborative research and licensing to established companies.”

“The SETsquared Programme has provided our researchers with an exciting new opportunity which offers exceptional training and team support, engagement with prospective customers, partners and competitors, and validation the commercial potential of their work.”

The ICURe programme brings together teams comprising a senior researcher, a private sector business advisor and an early-career researcher with commercially-promising ideas to ‘get out of the lab’ and validate their ideas in the marketplace.

The ICURe pilot Programme, with funding from HEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council for England) and InnovateUK has been extended to include teams from universities outside the SETsquared partnership as it  further enhances links between universities and industry.

For more information, visit localhost/setsquared-live/icure