During the MRes year, innovation training is provided through bespoke courses on:

Interaction with industry partners through events and joint PhD projects, as well as innovation seminars, helps enrich the students experience during the MRes as well as later years.

Transitioning academic research to higher Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) and commercial applications is a key focus of our centre, which we support through schemes such as the NanoFutures Leadership Award, offeredto selected PhD students who are in the final stages of completing their PhD.

The innovation and business training combined with a strong scientific foundation has enabled a number of our students and alumni to set up startup businesses based on their own research or on other topics.

Nano-Innovation Seminar Series

The Nano-Innovation Seminar series provides an opportunity for students to engage with leaders in nano-innovation during the MRes year and beyond. Recent speakers have included Dr Giorgia Longobardi (Co-Founder and CEO, Cambridge GaN Devices), Alison Mears (Co-Founder and Director, Healthy Materials Lab), Dr Jean de la Verpilliere (Co-Founder and CEO,  Echion Technologies), Dr Jeremy Burroughes (CTO, Cambridge Display Technology), Prof Rachel Oliver (Co-Founder and CSO, Porotech), Dr Gita Khalili Moghaddam (Founder and CEO, TumourVue and GlycoVue), Adam Richardson and Peter Lee (BSI), and Dr Graeme Cruickshank (CTIO and General Manager, CPI-Formulation).

Business, innovation, and management skills training is a vital part of the NanoDTC programme. Besides specific courses and talks in this area we organise a number of innovation themed activities during our offsite workshops and provide opportunities for students to develop organisational skills through running their own events and sharing responsibility for managing equipment. The NanoDTC is widely seen as an example of best practice for similar graduate programmes.