New startup founders from across Leicestershire’s three universities have been reflecting on their time as the first cohort of the VentureVersity programme.
The Research England funded collaboration between Leicester Startups, University of Leicester, De Montfort University and Loughborough University came to an end in November at a live pitching showcase.
The year long programme, which aimed to turn academic ideas from the three universities into commercially viable businesses, was praised at the event at Space Park Leicester by participants.
Dr Indrani Lahiri managed to build a team to help her develop her education startup Bric22 whilst on the programme:
“What an incredible journey! VentureVersity has inspired us to deep think about the path from research to impact and innovation. The journey was intense. I had initially no clue about what’s ahead!
“What Building Resilience in Children BRIC22 needed was someone to believe in the vision and provide a platform to scope out!
“I am very thankful and grateful to Leicester Startups, Sam Larke, Ben Ravilious and three universities for thinking outside the box and helping us take the first steps!”
Dr Chris Young, who’s developed a fish health care product called Liquid Gold said:
“Really a huge privilege to have been a graduate of the first VentureVersity Accelerator cohort and selected as a case study success story for the programme, which culminated this week in a fantastic showcase at the Leicester Space Park.
“Been a brilliant stepping stone for us in our progression …
“Looking forward to see many more cohorts to come as this great initiative expands and repeats in the Midlands and beyond. I know many of my colleagues are eager to get on board with their own projects next time round.”
University of Leicester President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Nishan Canagarajah, who spoke at the event, said:
“We are proud to host this trailblazing event which is a fantastic celebration of talent and entrepreneurship within our academic community. It speaks to the growth of the knowledge economy. Collaboration is key to this success and here we find how truly transformative higher education is with the brightest minds working together to create a legacy of change.”
Professor Daniel Parsons, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation at Loughborough University, said:
“This remarkable collaboration across the three Leicestershire Universities, exemplifies the transformative power of partnerships between academia and business. The success of this programme lies not only in the ventures it has cultivated but also in the development of the Toolkit—a blueprint which can be used nationwide by universities to translate intellectual property into real-world impact.”
Professor Katie Normington, Vice-Chancellor of DMU, said:
“VentureVersity has enhanced and fostered entrepreneurial culture within and between the universities and the region. It has actively supported and fostered graduate entrepreneurship and employment opportunities in the region.”
It was also announced at the VentureVersity demo day that the next Innovational Festival will take place next March and led by Leicester and Leicestershire Business & Skills Partnership. For more visit: https://llbsp.org.uk/