Research Ventures in Social Science Workshop

10th October 2019

Lead institution:
The University of Glasgow

Summary

This two-day workshop delivered a first of its kind cross-institution programme for social sciences in Scotland. Based on feedback from SocSci PhD and ECRs suggesting that they didn’t feel prepared or supported to be enterprising in their research and to make it transferable into the private sector, participants learnt key tools and steps to build a start-up, and explored resources and support structures available in the Scottish entrepreneurial eco-system.

The Challenge

Previous feedback from Social Science PhDs and Early Career Researchers suggest they don’t feel prepared or supported to be enterprising in their research and make their academic interests and skills transferrable into the private sector.

The Solution

We worked with entrepreneurial training consultants at Skillfluence to create a two-day workshop aimed to equip Social Science PhDs and Early Career Researchers to be more enterprising in their research impacts and encourage them to recognise their business transferrable skills and build new capabilities.

Thirty-six participants from nine Universities attended the workshop, which delivered a first of its kind cross-institution programme for social sciences in Scotland. Throughout the two days, participants learnt key tools and steps to build a start-up, and resources /support structures available in the Scottish entrepreneurial eco-system.

Socially driven businesses from across Scotland spoke about their opportunities and challenges as entrepreneurs in a Q&A discussion. The event culminated with each group pitching their mock-company idea to an expert panel, with awards for best presentation and most viable company.

The Outcome

Feedback for the workshop was very positive, with 81% of participants giving the programme an overall score of very good+.

An example of participant feedback is the following:

This workshop was amazing and was able to give provide knowledge, skills, experience, hope and confidence in possible social science ventures

Attendees left feeling more confident in their abilities to translate their academic skills into business terms, and had a better picture of how to incorporate entrepreneurial methods into their work. The workshop was so successful that there are plans to run a similar programme again.


Explore more

FastFrame, Templates for Prototyping Software Apps

The aim of the FastFrame project is to allow innovation offices to provide better support for academics that are creating innovative apps e.g. a data dashboard, a training app or an interactive journey.

Announcing The Social Venture Pathway

The Social Venture Pathway offers a toolkit of resources to guide you through the process of creating a social venture. This self-guided pathway aims to fill the gaps missing from traditional innovation processes by providing a clear and comprehensive training resource for starting your first social venture.

Members only

Train the Trainer 

This is an overview of the methods used to obtain relevant information for the Train the Trainer project.

Members only

Building on ABCs – Phase 3 Expansion: Creating Collaborations

Modular Knowledge-Exchange Training Course that gives insights into processes and requirements to developing business partnerships.

Ready to join
our network?

The Aspect Network welcomes applications from like-minded organisations across the world to become members

Join us in contributing to solutions for the global challenges we encounter. Reach out to us today to discover how the Aspect Network can support you

Join us Member login