Over 100 people have come together to learn more about developments at the University in Vision Sciences, Bioelectronics and MedTech. There were demonstrations of new technologies, tours of MedTech laboratories, presentations by researchers and budding entrepreneurs as well as roundtable discussions and networking with the University’s technology transfer company, UMI3.
Curtis Dobson, Professor of Translational Biology at the University, commented: “The University of Manchester carries out an astonishingly broad programme of research, with numerous world renowned teams eager to help companies pursue their R&D goals.
“Events like the Innovation Showcase offer a fantastic opportunity for the University to engage with industry and further its mission to make a positive impact in the world.”
Mary Canning, Associate at Epidarex, a specialist life science venture capital group, who attended the Innovation Showcase commented: “We like to work closely with top universities and the Innovation Showcase was very helpful in pointing out where The University of Manchester’s strengths lie. We’ve had a good relationship with UMI3 for the last couple of years. “They’ve pitched a number of projects to us and there’s a very exciting pipeline.”
She added: “I’d also say that academics shouldn’t feel that they have to have a perfect business plan before they talk to industry or talk to investors, because if the technology is exciting enough, people will want to help and give advice.
“We like to engage directly with academics, even long before they need funding so we can give them some input and then talk again later on.”
Mark Dearden took part in the Plenary Panel. Mark is VP of Strategy & Marketing at LG, a global leader in the life sciences sector, serving customers in healthcare, applied markets (including food, agbio and the environment), research and government.
Mark commented: “Innovation is critical to our agenda as a company. We track the vitality of our portfolio, which is a measure of revenue generated from new technology.
“The diversity of perspectives from such a broad range of attendees in the Innovation Showcase was really engaging.”
