Funded Project Archive - Page 3 of 8

Piloting an Innovation Internships programme for PhD students

What is the project doing?

In 2022, Zinc piloted a new placements programme, allowing PhD students – the majority from SHAPE disciplines – to work with and in Zinc startups. Eight students joined us in May from a range of institutions and disciplines, but with a shared interest in improving children’s mental health, which was the focus of our most recent venture-builder. Over three months, they were able to gain substantial hands-on experience with startups and to apply their research skills and knowledge to the early-stage development of new commercial products and services. They also worked together on a group Venture Project, to develop a commercial solution supporting children experiencing eco-anxiety.

Both student and venture participants in this programme provided very positive feedback. Students particularly highlighted the value of joining a cross-institutional and cross-disciplinary cohort; working together on the Venture Project; gaining direct experience of work with founders / ventures; and being able to access support and programme content from Zinc.

The experience of running this programme has confirmed that there is both a significant gap in the availability of startup-based placement opportunities for PhDs (particularly in SHAPE), and a real demand for this sort of placement among students. We hope to run further Innovation Internship programmes in future.

Phase 3 focus: Run a second round of the Innovation Internships placement programme, building on the pilot experience to refine and enhance the programme to move towards a sustainable programme.

Why is this needed?

Given the clear demand for this sort of placement among PhD students and the mutual benefits that we observed to both students and ventures, we are keen to offer further Innovation Internships with Zinc / Zinc ventures. Before the end of this programme, we ran two online information sessions for PhD students interested in participating in a future programme. Even with minimal promotion, hese attracted ~20 participants from a range of institutions and disciplines. Students from the current cohort joined those sessions and were able to share their own experiences with prospective applicants to a future programme.

How can members get involved?

This programme has now finished. However, we hope to run further iterations of the Innovation Internships placements for PhD students. We would welcome members’ input to the development of that new programme and their support with promoting this opportunity to students at their own institutions.

We also welcome ongoing expressions of interest from academics at ASPECT institutions who might be keen to engage with companies in our portfolio of existing ventures (all of which focus on mental health, healthy ageing, and the future of work). Anyone keen to learn more can contact Rachel Middlemass
(rachelm@zinc.vc) for more information.

We are also keen to hear from any academic researchers who might be interested in joining us as Visiting Fellows to the next venture-builder, which will develop new companies seeking to transform the industries with the biggest environmental impacts. Researchers can register their interest in this here: https://bit.ly/3RNrub2

Contact

Rachel Middlemass, Head of R&D Partnerships, ZINC
rachelm@zinc.vc

APPLE

What was the project doing?

This project explored how systems underpinning academic career progression could be better aligned to support meaningful engagement with Entrepreneurship & Innovation. It examined the then-current state of play with Aspect partners in terms of recognition, reward, and workload allocation; co-created solutions; and provided recommendations for developing and implementing an enterprise pathway(s).

Why was this needed?

Research had been completed, and findings were prepared for dissemination. Work was underway on a follow-on project.

How could members get involved?

The project received Phase 3 funding from Aspect and shared in the session how members could get involved, including: Interviews with senior stakeholders; Survey of academic staff (in preparation); Focus group with SHAPE researchers (in preparation).

Contact

Paul Robert, Lead Researcher, University of Sussex paul.roberts@collaboratehe.co.uk

Prof Norbert Morawetz, Henley Business School, University of Reading n.morawetz@henley.ac.uk

Social Venture Pathway

What is the project doing?

The project aimed to develop a new and dedicated multi-step pathway to support academics interested in forming a social venture. The unique pathway included a set of tools and guidance documents, to allow innovation teams to readily guide the formation of a social venture. These tools are now available on the Aspect Member Hub.

The Translational Impact Acceleration Hub (Phase 2), Social Ventures Pathways project, and the RC CoP project worked together on this project to create complementary resources for both academic and professional services staff.

Work Package 1 – Audit of material

Deliverable: Audit
Description: An external consultant was engaged to support an audit of material created for academic & professional services staff to support commercialisation. This audit included all templates and tools for social entrepreneurs, to find the gaps in the current disparate materials.

Work Package 2 – Creation of New Materials

Deliverable: New materials to support the gaps identified in WP1.
Description: This included the creation of guidance bite-sized videos on social enterprise to incorporate legal guidance from Taylor Vintners. This included a template for the Theory of Change, impact assessments, social lean canvas or the mission model canvas. In addition, materials were developed for a mini-course to engage both externals as well as how to incentivise academic researchers in this space. There will be specific resources aimed at each stage of the innovation process, to be aligned with the TIAH process.

Work Package 3 – Funding Guide

Deliverable: Guide on investors
Description: To create a categorised guide to impact investors and a clear guidance document on routes to funding for social ventures

Work Package 4 – Sharing sessions

Description: To take advantage of the large group of universities with varied experiences, we will hold one-off sharing sessions on topics related to social ventures, likely led by a specific university. Topics to be identified through the audit.

Charlotte Rowan, LSE
C.Rowan1@lse.ac.uk

Pathways to increase SHAPE academic business engagement

What is the project doing?

Using a thematic context (Sustainability; Digital data and risk; Levelling up) as a hook to get academics engaged, the programme showcased pathways to increase academic engagement. Includes workshops with academics, ECRs, and businesses; and development of case studies and a framework for academic engagement.

The project worked in collaboration with the ‘Building on ABC’ Phase 3 project.

Train the Trainer

What is the project doing?

Following the first scoping phase of the ‘Train the Trainer’ project in 2021/22, the KE/Comms CoP implemented plans to improve the accessibility and use of the toolkits and other outputs produced in the first phase of Aspect and develop some new resources and sessions for PS staff tasked with
communicating/promoting/supporting knowledge exchange (KE), innovation and its impact for SHAPE researchers within their institutions.

The main aim of the project was not to add significantly to the volume of resources on the Aspect platform, but rather to curate existing resources and develop short, targeted resources (checklists, slide decks, templates) to better support PS staff. We would also like the ethos of ‘Train the Trainer’ to be adopted by all Aspect projects, i.e. thought given to outputs and how PS staff can best use them.

Our platform (available under Communities on the Aspect member Platform) provides templates for doing so, and a means of sharing any new resources going forward. We welcome contributions from Aspect members as we begin to develop these resources, particularly via members of the KE/Comms CoP and through the knowledge shares we run at our monthly meetings, which will feed into the project.

Contact

Louise Jones, Head of Research Communications and Engagement, LSE
l.jones2@lse.ac.uk

Building on ABC

Co-creating an online training resource for social sciences researchers.

What was the project doing?

A collaboration between three Aspect member institutions, this project built upon the collective learnings and successes of the ESRC NPIF Accelerating Business Collaboration fund to pilot a comprehensive Knowledge Exchange training programme for research active and professional support staff.

With its Phase 3 Funding, the project drew on learnings from the ASPECT Phase 2 Project “Building on ABC- Co-creating an Online training resource for social science researchers.” It proposed the development of training materials to give SHAPE academics insight into the processes and requirements to develop business partnerships.

These resources are now available on the Aspect Members Platform.

In Place of War

What is the project doing?

This project sought to explore the possibilities of commercialising education programmes that emerged from an AHRC funded project, In Place of War (IPOW) at the University of Manchester. In doing so, this enabled IPOW’s education programmes to be offered for free for participants from disadvantaged backgrounds and in communities education setting in sites of conflict.

The initial analysis into the undergraduate market, discounted the feasibility of developing accredited BA modules of CASE. However, the market analysis identified the feasibility of executive leadership development programmes and music making CDP by adapting existing CASE resources.

The next phase of the project continued to refine the initial executive leadership programme concept and pricing strategy as well as review of how to adapt existing CASE materials.

The final output is an evaluation report on the findings of the initial phase. Members goit involved by sharing their insights or experiences into ethical models for commercial lifelong learning training.

Contact

Theresa O Bradaigh Bean, Head of Research and Education, In Place of War. teresa@inplaceofwar.net

ENT COP

What is the project doing?

ENT COP was a collaboration amongst members of the Aspect Entrepreneurship community of Practice to develop best-practice on how we can support to international graduate entrepreneurs (IGE) effectively (re: startup and innovator visa scheme); creating framework for measurement and tracking of economic impact from SHAPE international graduate entrepreneurs (IGEs); developing policy recommendations for the scheme.

How can members get involved?

This project was designed to involve and benefit the wider Aspect member network. We have presented the project idea at the Aspect Entrepreneurship CoP, and have also invited new members Kingston, Plymouth, Warwick and Southampton to participate in the project.

We will seek to engage a high number of institutions in the research phase, where we will seek to interview stakeholders in charge of the visa process (min 10), and distribute the tracker to all Aspect members. Due to the current lack of best practice exchange in this area, against increased uncertainty and a lack of official guidance, we are positive that we will find high engagement.

The findings from the project will be made available and disseminated to all members via the Aspect members Platform.

Contact

Dr Anlan Chen, Lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Henley Business School, University of Reading
a.chen@henley.ac.uk

Prof Norbert Morawetz, Professor in Entrepreneurship and Digital Innovation / Programme Director UG Entrepreneurship, Henley Business School, University of Reading
n.morawetz@henley.ac.uk

Marion Anderson, Student and Graduate Enterprise Manager, University of Glasgow,
Marion.Anderson@glasgow.ac.uk

Aspect Angels

What was the project doing?

Aspect Angels was a first-of-its-kind network that built pathways from ideas and research through to commercialization via angel investment.

Working closely with the Aspect Research Commercialization (ARC) Accelerator and the newly launched SHAPE Catalyst, the purpose of the network was to encourage investment into SHAPE ventures that created positive social and environmental impact alongside financial returns.

Aspect Angels aimed to support and foster scale in innovative solutions that addressed pressing global challenges, such as climate change, poverty, inequality, and access to healthcare and education. They believed this was a crucial role in identifying and nurturing promising startups that had the potential to make a difference in the world.

Additionally, Aspect Angels provided strategic guidance and operational support to portfolio companies to help them scale and achieve their impact goals. This could include connecting them with networks and resources, advising on governance and management practices, and helping them measure and report on their impact.