The University of Manchester, through its innovation capability Unit M, is launching two new programmes to support early stage founders within the University community and Greater Manchester.
The £650,000 funding to accelerate entrepreneurship was announced at a Founders Network event hosted by the Innovation Academy, which works across the University to support researchers commercialising their ideas.
The two projects - Ideas with Impact Awards and Greater Manchester Accelerator Programme - support different aspects of the city's innovation ecosystem.
The Ideas With Impact Awards scheme will offer a total of £300,000 in individual innovation prizes for the most inspiring and commercially viable early-stage research projects, made possible by the generosity our alumni and philanthropic supporters.
The Greater Manchester Accelerator Programme encompasses £350,000 in funding for regional innovators and high-potential ventures to help researchers identify and validate their early-stage business ideas.
The Founders Network event convened over 200 like-minded innovators for an evening of networking and conversation. Part of a growing series, it brought together a record number of students, staff, entrepreneurs and industry stakeholders to continue developing Manchester's innovation ecosystem, and heard pitches from eight student and staff founders at different stages of the "idea to impact" journey. The ideas spanned women's health, sustainable materials manufacturing, health tech and social enterprises tackling global inequalities.
Professor Aline Miller, Chief Scientific Officer at Unit M, and Director of the Innovation Academy said: "This is an exciting time to be a budding entrepreneur in our university and Greater Manchester. At Unit M, we are dedicated to fostering meaningful collaboration between our partners and industry to build an inclusive innovation ecosystem. This is vital to translating Manchester's academic excellence to tangible impact which benefits society."
The University of Manchester is dedicated to fostering and nurturing its rich history of world-class research. Unit M is the University's new innovation capability, created to connect and catalyse the innovation ecosystem in Manchester and the wider region to accelerate inclusive growth. As part of Unit M, the Innovation Academy aims to nurture its growing community of tech, creative and social start-up and spin-out founders to empower each other to succeed.
Dr Catherine Headley, CEO of The University of Manchester Innovation Factory, said: "The Ideas With Impact fund has been instrumental in catalysing new opportunities for commercialisation through the Innovation Factory. The critical funding supported through generous donations, has contributed to the success of more than 100 spinout companies that we have created from the University's academic research. This helps us to realise our ambitions and grow our community of donors who are supporting brilliant future founders. At the Innovation Factory, we are proud to play a key role in the University's impressive ranking as a top-tier institution for spinout generation."
