Our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our site. This helps us to continually improve your experience when using our website. We also use external analytics software which may set additional cookies to perform their analysis. These cookies (and any others in use) are detailed in our site Privacy and Cookie Policies. You can delete or disable these cookies in your web browser at any time but doing so may impact website functionality and user experience.

Creating beneficial impact from your ideas and expertise

Helping you create beneficial impact from your research ideas and expertise is at the heart of what we do. It is how we support the University of Cambridge’s mission to contribute to society at the highest international levels of excellence.

We embark on a journey with you, expertly guiding and mentoring you through the process of developing ideas into commercial and social enterprise opportunities. There are different routes to commercialisation open to you, including using your expertise as a consultant, collaborating with external companies, and creating a new company or social enterprise. The process can both inform your research and create external impact.

Support for academic consultancy

We help you offer your expertise to third parties through consultancy contracts, providing comprehensive administrative support, including professional indemnity cover.

Find out more

Develop a commercial opportunity

Innovative research generates new approaches, devices and materials that we can help you assess for commercial potential. We can advise on, facilitate and coordinate the resources to develop the most promising into attractive commercial opportunities.

Find out more

Company and social enterprise creation

When the commercialisation process leads to setting up a company or social enterprise, we can advise on developing your business plan and strategy, connect you to experts, mentors and investors, and provide early stage seed funding.

Find out more

Talk to us online

We host regular online drop-in sessions for University members interested in
generating impact from their research.

Find out more

Make an enquiry

It’s never too early to get in touch with us, either for help managing discussions with an external organisation, or for advice on the best routes for commercialisation.

Start a conversation

 

Cambridge Enterprise explained why I needed a contract to work with Nyamyam and put everything in place without any hassle.

Professor Lauren Kassell, Department of History and Philosophy of Science

Without the intellectual input and strategic, business and IP know-how of Cambridge Enterprise, I would not have been able to realise the commercialisation of my research. It has been a great privilege to work with them. They are most definitely unsung heroes of the University.

Professor Laura Itzhaki, Founder, PolyProx Therapeutics.

If Cambridge Enterprise hadn't encouraged me to commercialise our patent, I would never have thought about starting anything. And that's continued: they helped with our business plan and strategy and made introductions to many of our current investors. I'd say that Cambridge Enterprise has been instrumental.

Dr Carmen Palacios-Berraquero, Co-Founder, Nu Quantum

Beneficial impact across all disciplines

We are experienced in creating beneficial impact from research originating from across the University’s Schools as summarised below.

Schools of Arts and Humanities, and Humanities and Social Sciences

Impact routes in the arts, humanities and social sciences often involve the creation of media, including educational and public engagement resources, software, videos, games and apps. We can help you to protect these assets and to work with partners to maximise their reach, for example within the creative and heritage industries and the charitable, business and public sectors. Other high-impact ventures include research-led social interventions in diverse areas such as government, technology, ethics, criminology, health and well-being, education, and global sustainable development.

Schools of Biological Sciences and Clinical Medicine

The laboratories and hospitals of the University of Cambridge produce a wealth of knowledge. Transforming this into products and services that save and improve lives requires expertise from academia and industry, as well as capital and customers. We have created novel and ambitious collaborative ventures to bring these critical elements together to help create more effective and efficient impact across the life sciences, from agriculture to therapeutics.

Schools of Physical Sciences and Technology

We are experts in technology transfer, the commercialisation of new ideas, technologies and scientific inventions. We work with you to develop your innovations into attractive opportunities for industry and investors. Successes have included revolutionary battery technology, speech recognition software, nanomaterials and automotive components. These technologies improve energy efficiency, infrastructure, transport, healthcare, manufacturing and more.

Develop your skills & network

If you are a University member who is interested in transferring your knowledge and creating research impact, there is a wealth of training and networking opportunities available.

Train and network
Image: Credit: Sir Cam