Cohort of Commercialisation Fellows grows in 2022-23
We are very pleased to announce additional early career researchers to our Cohort for 2022-23! They have just commenced their EPSRC and ESRC IAA funded fellowships. Here are our three researchers from earlier this year.
Apply or express your interest
We are permanently OPEN to receive expressions of interest and applications from early career academics from all faculties to start anytime! Please email your questions, interest, and applications to iaa@surrey.ac.uk (you can find more information and how to apply here).
Let’s learn about what motivated them to pursue innovation and impact:
- Dr Marian Perera (School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering)
- Dr Pablo Pereira-Doel (School of Hospitality & Tourism Management)
- Dr Marwa Hassan (School of Veterinary Medicine)
Tell us about yourself, and why you applied for this fellowship
What experience have you had of research commercialisation and innovation?
Marian
I currently have no experience with research commercialisation.
Pablo
My experience on commercialising an innovation was demonstrated through my own PhD, where I had to convince tourism businesses to install a smart water-saving device in their premises to develop my experimental research . The learnings and findings from the PhD led to £400k investment in the company behind the technology to develop a second version. Also, that research led to a University of Surrey ESRC IAA 9-month project, a 6-month Global Challenges Research Fund project and to a 18-months ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship, the first ever awarded in tourism & hospitality.
Marwa
My research experience has always involved a translational aspect, mainly in the form of developing diagnostics for bacterial infections and AMR. I have worked with many national and international industry partners. As an outcome, I have one patent (Glycopeptide antibiotic constructs, US20200078466A1) that was undergoing licensing, and some of my work has contributed intellectually to another patent (Detection of nucleic acids using unmodified gold nanoparticles, WO2012139122A1).
What do you think Surrey does well?
Marian
The University of Surrey emphasises the importance of innovation throughout the research process; from making innovation a core value and aim of the University R&I Strategy to incentivising researchers for achieving real-world impact.
Pablo
Surrey is great as a living laboratory where to apply research and innovation, with the help of students, academics, staff, and the local community. In fact, Surrey purchased the improved version of the technology I used in my PhD to further test it in halls of residence. Also, through a CapEx Cross Faculty project, Surrey acquired the latest eye-tracking technology for the SHTM biometric laboratory.
Marwa
At Surrey, we are good at always moving forward and trying to do better, and with the current FHMS focus on impact, innovation, and commercialisation activities we are building a strong repertoire of knowledge to create a real impact.
What could Surrey do better?
Marian
Improving knowledge sharing of research and governance processes for interdisciplinary research projects.
Pablo
To further enhance the value and importance of creating societal, environmental, and economic impact through applied cross-disciplinary research and innovation, especially in postgraduate projects.
Marwa
As an early career researcher, I understand the value and impact research innovation can have and I believe we can do better in increasing the visibility and accessibility of current and future opportunities to ECRs.
What are the key expectations/learning objectives for your Fellowship with us?
Marian
I am working on a project which developed and validated a drug sensor for measuring lithium levels in blood:
- I would like to gain an understanding on enhancing the commercialisation potential of the research outputs and how to find the right industry partners to make the sensor into a marketable product.
- I would also like to learn about how best to manage intellectual property of a product once commercialised.
Pablo
As part of this Commercialisation Fellowship, I will be optimising the use of the SHTM world-class biometric research laboratory to facilitate consumer behaviour studies using psycho-physiological measurements. Also, I will create a new cross-disciplinary research group to continue my impact work on Showering Smartly.
In terms of learning objectives, I will gain skills and knowledge on Intellectual Property, spin-out companies, and Scrum Project Management.
Marwa
I want to use this opportunity and time to:
- Focus on knowledge exchange and innovation activities through supporting antimicrobial resistance and diagnostics projects, and,
- Drive more interactions and collaborations with SMEs to support my future career aspirations.
- I also hope I can help other ECRs with their knowledge exchange and innovation activities to create impact within the School and Faculty.
Next steps
The cohort will each spend several months working on real projects across Innovation Strategy, FEPS, FHMS, and FASS. We will continue sharing these types of articles on their experiences to foster a culture of innovation within academia.
Check out the experiences of our previous Commercialisation Fellows 2021-22:
Apply or express your interest (see top).
Contact us
If you would like more information about the Commercialisation Fellowship programme or to discuss if you might be eligible, please get in touch at iaa@surrey.ac.uk.