Spin Up Science aims to empower researchers and develop skills to complement their technical capability through experiences and workshops
Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) student, Laura Langton, recently took part in an entrepreneurial course designed to foster a new class of researcher. The Startup Experience developed by Spin Up Science aims to help researchers build the skills they need to lead, launch, and leverage new ideas into the world.
During the five-day course, researchers work with a pre-incorporation or an early-stage deep technology venture to build a viable business case looking at areas such as technology validation, market landscape, commercial strategy, and business strategy.
Hands on experience
The first programme ran in April with exceptional feedback from all involved including PhD student Laura. Laura who graduated from SETU in 2020 with an MSc in Applied Sport and Exercise Psychology said, “This course was a fantastic opportunity to get hands on experience working closely with a real client to truly understand their technology and opportunities for it.”
Scientists turned innovators
Spin Up Science is a team of scientists turned innovators who upskilled during their time in spin-offs and start-ups. Their goal is to empower the next generation helping them to develop complementary skills to their technical capability through experiences and workshops such as The Startup Experience.
Innovation ecosystems
“We believe that the best way to support entrepreneurs is to build ecosystems where start-ups can thrive,” explained Ben Miles, CEO and Founder of Spin Up Science. “Innovation ecosystems have also been identified as a critical factor in effective research commercialisation. At Spin Up Science our aim is to build ecosystems by creating a critical mass of entrepreneurial researchers, accelerating concepts to companies, empowering start-ups and strengthening connections between academia and the ecosystem.”
Knowledge Transfer Ireland TTSI
Four academic institutions SETU, Maynooth University, IT Carlow and Athlone IT have come together to bring this UK based programme to Ireland under the Knowledge Transfer Ireland run Technology Transfer Strengthening Initiative. “We are pleased to be able to offer this innovative course to our postgraduate population to allow them achieve enhanced commercial outputs from their research”, said Dr James O’Sullivan RTTP of the SETU Technology Transfer Office.
The next series of the Start Up Experience course will take place 21 – 25 June and 12 – 16 July. Find out more at www.spin-up.science/startup-experience.