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The transferable nature of our enterprise seminars and speakers provide skills in resourcefulness, resilience and reflection for both students and staff.
Our past seminars:
Guest speaker, Kirby Drake discusses:
What is a trade secret?
What is protectable as a trade secret?
Effects of trade secret disclosure.
Considerations as to whether to protect through trade secrets or patents.
Reasonable measures – best practices to maintain trade secrets.
What makes a business attractive for venture capital? (Part 1 & Part 2) - David Grimm, UCL Tech Fund
Guest speaker, David Grimm discusses:
- How to develop the broader business thinking about new technologies.
- The different types of commercial funding available.
- How particpants to understand when venture capital may be a good method of funding for their business idea.
Guest speaker, Dr Andrea Macrina discusses:
- What collaboration opportunity might there be between academia and the industry?
- Why collaborate on joint research with an industry partner, and is there a particular stage in one’s academic career when to begin?
- Serendipitous encounters or strategic planning?
- Where and how do academics and industry practitioners meet?
- What to do after contact details have been exchanged?
- How do I bring an industry partner on board?
Introduction to Patent Applications - Amy Bishton, Patent Agent Barker Brettell
Guest speaker, Amy Bishton discusses:
- What is a patent?
- How do I obtain a patent?
- What can I obtain a patent for?
- Are there restrictions on what can be patented?
- What can be done with a patent?
- What does a patent application contain?
- What are the basic requirements for these?
What to do and avoid in starting a company - Professor Peter Dobson, The Queen’s College, Oxford
Guest speaker Prof Peter Dobson discusses:
- Why are you doing it?
- Why not license the ideas to existing companies?
- Have you done due diligence on the idea?
- Is there a "supply chain" involved?
- How will you raise money to start?
- And do you have a clear idea how to sustain the growth of the company?
- Do you have an "exit plan"?
- And many more…
Corporate Partnering - Jim Skinner, Chair of American Chemical Society, SCHB
Guest speaker, Jim Skinner discusses:
- Research and development contracts.
- Manufacturing agreements.
- Sales, marketing and/or distribution contracts.
- Equity (financial) investments by major corporations.
- And many more...
Guest speaker, Prof Andy Beale discusses:
- The sometimes painful "on the job" learning process.
- What Finden Ltd. understood to be the critical moments for their existence.
- How Finden Ltd. has morphed into an organisation quite different to what they had initially envisaged.
What Andrew sees as challenges and opportunities for those wishing to embark on a similar journey.
Showcase of a UCL Start-Up ZNotes - Zubair Junjunia, UCL Maths Alumnus & Founder of ZNotes
Guest speaker, Zubair Junjunia shares his story:
- From his initial idea to create ZNotes in 2014;
- To being accepted on the UCL Enterprise Launch Programme (now called "Build your own business 3: Launch your business") for assistance in evolving ZNotes into a start-up;
- How he continued to run ZNotes whilst completing his Mathematics Master’s degree;
- Drawing attention to the benefits of this venture;
- And any challenges he faced along the way.
Guest speaker, Cassie Dawson discusses:
- An explanation of how academics can use UCLC’s services, including contracts, project management and finance.
- Case studies of projects that have emerged from MAPS.
- Some other relevant completed project examples of overlapping subject area or interest to MAPS staff.
- The potential for consultancy to provide a pathway for demonstrating impact on society.
Guest speaker, Gianluca Pescaroli shares:
- The first time he heard about the possibility of doing consultancy and his understanding of what consultancy can be.
- His small journey of mistakes, near misses, and lessons learned.
- Some examples of his work with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Greater London Authority, Arup, and Resilience First.
- If consultancy is your next career move, if it’s something simply not worth it, or if it’s a “necessary evil” you could consider making a difference with your research.
Guest speaker, Prof. Ijeoma Uchegbu shares:
- What Nanomerics understood to be the critical moments for their existance.
- How Nanomerics has evolved into an organisation it is today.
- Challenges and opportunities for those wishing to embark on a similar journey.
- The benefits that Nanomerics brings to their academic career.
