Early Career Researchers secure funding through the Researcher to Innovator (R2I) programme to support the commercial development of their ideas
Twenty-four early career researchers have now successfully completed the MEC Researcher to Innovator (R2I) programme, an exciting entrepreneurship training programme for researchers with ambitions to develop commercial ventures and create impact from their research.
On Thursday 17th July 2025, researchers from 花椒直播 furthered their entrepreneurial journey by completing the MEC R2I programme at the Options Roundabout event. The event saw participants pitch their innovations to a panel of commercialisation experts, entrepreneurs and funders from across the University. The day concluded with a celebration of the cohort鈥檚 accomplishments with peers and supporters of the programme, as well as a networking opportunity to aid them in their next steps.
The R2I programme aims to inspire and accelerate the translation of academic research into impact-driven ventures. Over the course of 12-weeks, participants benefited from a series of bespoke workshops and mentoring opportunities to help them articulate their ideas and explore the commercial potential of their research.
Six Innovation Enabling Awards were granted to acknowledge the progress and growth potential, with early career researchers receiving between 拢2,000 to 拢10,000 to support the further development of their businesses.
Aurore Hochard, Director of the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre, presented the Innovation Enabling Awards to the six winning projects.
Award Winners
Innovation Enabling Award: 拢10,000
Lut猫o Medical
Dr Abigail Elias (School of Biological Sciences)
鈥�The support, mentoring, and resources provided through the Researcher to Innovator (R2I) programme have been transformative. Most importantly, the experience gave me the confidence to reach out to potential stakeholders and begin building the connections needed to bring my ideas to life. It was also great to connect with people on the cohort from such a broad range of disciplines."
Innovation Enabling Award: 拢5,000
ViRTUE: Virtual Reality Training in Ultrasonic Evaluation
Daniel Conniffe (School of Engineering)
鈥淩2I equipped me with the resources, motivation, and communication skills to bridge the gap between research and industry. Through building a strong network, I gained insight into real-world challenges and was able to pivot my research toward creating a meaningful, practical solution.鈥�
Innovation Enabling Award: 拢3,000
Hollowgraf
Dr Premlal Balakrishna Pillai (School of Engineering)
鈥淭he encouragement, guidance, and practical knowledge I gained through R2I have been truly inspiring. The programme really helped me to clarify my idea and shape it into a commercially viable opportunity, giving me the confidence to take the first steps into entrepreneurship.鈥�
Innovation Enabling Award: 拢2,000
PRECIOUS: Programmable Recovery of Critical Elements Using Synthetic Biology
Dr Sergio Guti茅rrez Zapata (School of Natural Sciences)
鈥淭he R2I programme gave me the push I didn鈥檛 know I needed. It helped me go from a scientific idea to something that could actually work in the real world 鈥� with real people and real challenges. Being able to shape a venture around bioremediation, and test the idea from different angles, has been incredibly motivating.鈥�
Innovation Enabling Award: 拢2,000
PRISM: Prostate cancer Risk Identification by Spectroscopic Measurement
Dr Dougal Ferguson (School of Engineering)
鈥�The R2I programme really helped me hone my ability to concisely and impactfully pitch my research as a commercial application. I am much more confident now pitching my science to a non-scientific audience!鈥�
Innovation Enabling Award: 拢2,000
Inclusive Skincare Solutions
Yoana Kirilova (School of Biological Sciences)
鈥淭he Researcher to Innovator programme has been a fantastic journey 鈥� connecting with like-minded peers, learning from experienced entrepreneurs, and gaining insights that will continue to shape my innovation journey.鈥�
The prize winners will also receive expert support and signposting to regional and national accelerator programmes and all the participants on the MEC R2I programme will be connected to the wider ecosystem for further support, mentoring and guidance in taking their research ideas forward.
Congratulations to everyone for completing the R2I programme and for showcasing your incredible research. The programme not only encouraged and supported researchers to consider the commercial potential of their research but also developed entrepreneurial mind-sets, confidence, commercial awareness and resilience.
The commitment and dedication of our researchers, demonstrated throughout this programme, is testament to their ambitions to generate impact through their research and I look forward to seeing what the future holds.
The organisers wish to thank the Innovation Academy and the Engineers for Business Fellowship for their sponsorship of the Innovation Enabling Awards.
The is supported by the University鈥檚 Innovation Academy. The Innovation Academy is a pan University initiative and joint venture between the , the and the Business Engagement and Knowledge Exchange team, bringing together knowledge, expertise and routes to facilitate the commercialisation of research.