Research into business

A new Business Plan Competition from the UK Research Councils aims to help turn great research into great business. 

The competition is open to researchers based in UK Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s) or Public Sector Research Establishments (PSRE) from across the spectrum of academic research within the remits of the eight UK Research Councils - from the arts and biosciences, to environmental physical and social sciences to technology.

Postgraduates, postdocs and academic staff who have a business idea arising from research and want to develop this further are encouraged to participate.

Taking part requires that entrants prepare a one page summary of their business idea and complete a short application form. Once accepted for the competition, they will benefit from training through a two-day commercialisation workshop.

The second phase of the competition will provide entrants with access to highly skilled experts with experience of research commercialisation. They will help them prepare a high quality business plan.