How to translate your research into a commercial idea
University spin-outs, technology licensing and venture creation are opening up a new generation of career paths for researchers. Here is how to find your route into the commercial world.
The real-world impact of research is rarely limited to the immediate problem it sets out to solve. Alfred Nobel’s work to stabilise nitroglycerin led to significant transformations across construction, mining, warfare and politics. The fortune it generated later funded the Nobel prizes.
Such societal and financial benefits are behind universities’ increasing focus on research commercialisation through technology transfer offices (TTOs). An estimated 3000 companies are spun out of universities globally each year, and with them come a range of jobs across the innovation ecosystem.