ACCELERATE Innovation

ACCELERATE Innovation is a portfolio of initiatives to support innovative thinking and creativity for healthcare innovation.

 

Mentoring for Medical Innovation

Would you like to have support with navigating the challenges of medical innovation and translational research?  

Would you like to be mentored by a senior innovation leader in the field?  

Our new mentorship programme will provide a unique opportunity for Early Career Researchers (ECRs) to be supported by one-on-one mentoring with leading medical innovators from CASMI - The Collaboration for the Advancement of Sustainable Medical Innovation and the UCL TINs - Therapeutic Innovations Network via the Translational Research Office - TRO. Expert training and resources will be provided throughout the scheme to get the most out of the experience for both mentees and mentors.  

The scheme is a collaboration between ACCELERATE Translational Research Training Programme, CASMI and UCL TINs.

How and when: The training will be delivered online and will run from January to July 2025. 

To apply: check out the web page

Deadline extension: Wednesday 15th January 2025

Team Challenge

This thirteen-week hands on training programme will see you apply knowledge and skills to develop a proposal to solve a real-life translational research challenge of your choosing in an interdisciplinary team. For example, this can be a commercial idea for a healthcare need (e.g. a new product or service) or a way of improving an existing service in a non-commercial setting (e.g. making a hospital process work more efficiently, healthcare data sharing etc) - anything that proposes to improve healthcare.

Participants will be placed into interdisciplinary teams around shared interests. As a team, you will develop a proposal for an innovative idea that can be solved by the unique combination of skills and experiences of your team members.

At the end of the programme there will be further opportunity to receive non-financial support/support in-kind, to take your team’s proposal forward. The previous three cohorts saw 7 projects awarded a cumulative total of £80,000. 

Target Audience: The Team Challenge is aimed at all healthcare researchers across UCL and the three UCL Biomedical Research Centres, from any discipline and background, from first year post-doctoral fellows upwards. This includes those starting to develop their own research group. Applicants will apply as individuals and be placed into teams based on shared interest.

When and where: The programme will run both online and in-person consisting a blend of whole cohort sessions, independent teamwork sessions, and team coaching sessions with the programme facilitators. Round 4 of the programme will run from 17th March 2025 to 26th June 2025. 

Apply: More information, and the sign up form, are on our webpage here

Extended Deadline: Tuesday 11th March 2025

Entrepreneurship Skills for Doctoral & ECRs

Develop an entrepreneurial mind-set and explore value creation. Explore skills needed to be entrepreneurial in research as well as enterprise. Currently available for academics in the Faculty of Population Health Sciences (FPHS).

This workshop will include:

• Taught elements, personal and interactive exercises
• Involve an experiential learning approach 

Date: Thursday 19/06/2025
Time: 10:00 to 16:00
Delivery format: In-person
Register here
Deadline: Thursday 12/06/2025

Please register using your UCL email address

Exploring Enterprise Creation

This workshop will give you an insight into how to spot an opportunity for an enterprise from a given research idea. Using case study-based scenarios, the workshop is designed for you to learn the basics of developing a research-led business idea. Currently available for academics in the Faculty of Population Health Sciences (FPHS).

This workshop will help participants to:

• Identify the skills required for a leadership team;
• Recognise enterprise challenges and work with others to find innovative ideas to meet them
• Understand market influences; and
• Develop and communicate a business proposition

Date: Monday 09/06/2025
Time: 10:00 to 16:00
Delivery format: In-person
Register here
Deadline: Monday 02/06/2025

Please register using your UCL email address

Translating Your Research for a Non-Academic World

By taking part in this 1.5 day workshop, you will learn how to explore and develop your own entrepreneurial skills and how they relate to translating academic research to a non-academic audience. Currently available for academics in the Faculty of Population Health Sciences (FPHS).

This workshop will help participants learn how to:

• Explore your own enterprising skills and how they relate to translating academic research to a non-academic audience
• Identify ideas for creating value from your research
• Identify opportunities to translate your research to make an impact for society
• Develop ideas that create value and make a difference to others
• Identify and communicate with stakeholders
• Pitch yourself and your research effectively to a chosen audience

Day 1 (of 2)  Monday 19/05/2025
Time: 10:00 to 16:00
Delivery format: In-person
Venue: UCL campus (tbc post registration)

Day 2 (of 2) Tuesday 20/05/2025 
Time: 09:30 to 12:00
Delivery format: Online

Register here 
Deadline: Monday 12/05/2025

Please register using your UCL email address

At UCL 

• Enterprise Training Programme - provided by Innovation and Enterprise.
• MSc in Bioscience Entrepeneurship- Post-graduate taught course.
• Medical Innovation and Enterprise MSci- at UCL. 
• UCL Partners events on healthcare adoption

Beyond UCL 

• AI in Healthcare online course from the Univeristy of Manchester and the NHS.
• Understanding Innovation in the Healthcare Sciences online course from the University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, MAHSE.
• The Science and Business of Biotechnology online course from MIT 
• Healthcare Marketplace series of online courses from the University of Minnosota 
• MDC Connects webinars from Medicines Discovery Catapult on innovative drug discovery Bioindustry Association (BIA)- 
• 'Bench to Bedside' webinar series with a focus on omics, biomarkers and bilogics. 

*Disclaimer - These resources have not been produced by UCL and although they have been shared as containing information that may be useful to the Translational Research community, they do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of UCL, ACCELERATE or the Academic Careers Office