A pioneering programme to help turn university research into successful start-ups was shortlisted at the recent national Knowledge Exchange Awards
VentureVersity, developed through a collaboration between the University of Leicester, De Montfort University (DMU) and Loughborough University in partnership with Leicester Startups, aimed to create new accelerated pathways for university intellectual property and ideas.
VentureVersity created a practical blueprint, which thanks to its success, is now being expanded to researchers and commercialisation teams across 15 Midlands partner universities as part of Forging Ahead. While VentureVersity may not have won the award on the night (27th November), its recognition as a finalist will give Forging Ahead critical momentum behind its expansion. The expansion will be led by the commercialisation team at Loughborough University, working in partnership with Forging Ahead.
VentureVersity involved academics pitching to be part of the programme, with successful applicants taking part in a structured process that included mentoring, commercial expertise and access to investors. The aim was to help them transform their research into commercial opportunities and viable businesses, across sectors including manufacturing, health tech and utilities.
From 26 initial project teams, 11 were selected for the final accelerator, culminating in a showcase event that revealed five spin-out companies now in development and several others now advancing through licensing or social enterprise routes. Collectively, they secured £225,000 in funding, via Research England’s Connected Capabilities Fund.
VentureVersity is one of four programmes that Forging Ahead is scaling across the Midlands, alongside Medici Enterprise Training, SPARK the Midlands, and a new licensing pilot: ‘IP to SME’.
Forging Ahead is a five-year project working to enchance commercialisation pathways in the Midlands, funded by Research England.
Professor Dan Parsons, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation at Loughborough University, said:
“VentureVersity demonstrates the power of regional collaboration in driving innovation and growth. By working together across Leicester and Leicestershire’s universities and business networks, we’ve built a model that not only accelerates new ventures but strengthens our collective innovation ecosystem. Being shortlisted for this national award is testament to that shared vision.”
Rajinder Bhuhi, Forging Ahead Project Manager said:
“A huge congratulations to the VentureVersity teams from University of Leicester, Loughborough University, and De Montfort University! The award for Sector Collaboration is apt as teams worked across institutions to realise the commercialisation of research-led ideas.
“So, what’s next? Through Forging Ahead, which launched earlier this year, VentureVersity now has that opportunity of reaching a wider audience of academics with 15 university partners across the Midlands, aiming to scale this successful model even further. This expansion marks a crucial step in unlocking the potential of more research-led ideas across the region, building a more connected innovation ecosystem and a stronger pipeline of new commercialisation opportunities.”
William Wells, CEO of Space Park Leicester at the University of Leicester, said:
“We are delighted to be nominated for this award. The approach we adopted in VentureVersity is genuinely novel and innovative in itself. It was made possible because of the close working relationships between our region’s university partners and effective co-design and delivery with our start-up community and local businesses. Once we opened up the opportunity to researchers and students, we were amazed by the demand. We expect to see at least five businesses emerge out of the programme.”
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