Is this you?

You’re searching for collaborators for your company’s blue-sky research; you’ve got an incredible idea that needs testing; you have a pressing industry challenge you would like to address with expert thinking. No problem: Imperial Enterprise is here to help your business innovate and grow. 

Whether you’re a startup, a multinational or driving change in the public sector, we can help you access the very best academic expertise – and even carry out joint research with Imperial, which may range from a single PhD project to a new department or centre. 

Imperial’s extraordinary people have done everything from steadying the Leaning Tower of Pisa to helping care homes become more human-centred. Let’s have a conversation about how we can help you meet your challenges. 

What to expect

We design every new project and partnership around addressing your specific needs and solving your problems. Imperial Enterprise can identify the experts who can drive your project forward and even bring together research teams to create new insights, technologies and techniques focused on the questions that affect your enterprise. 

Meanwhile, we deliver exceptional and agile project management – from proposal and budgets through to contracts and intellectual property rights. This deeply collaborative and proven process has resulted in an abundance of new thinking, new ideas and, we’re proud to say, decades-long partnerships with some of the world’s biggest brands. 

They’ve discovered that one great idea inevitably leads to another – and we want to help you drive that change forward. 

Who you'll work with

In 2010, experts at Imperial began working with Sainsbury’s to generate key bespoke knowledge to power its sustainability strategy in its shops and warehouses. The challenge? Marry the company’s ambitious growth plans to its equally ambitious carbon targets. 

Dr Salvador Acha Izquierdo and his colleagues worked with the Sainsbury’s team to examine the performance of the company’s extensive buildings, and to quantify the impact of new technologies on the existing portfolio. 

Today, Imperial’s experts work in a strategic partnership with Sainsbury’s, adding cutting-edge insight across multiple projects. These include: decarbonising power, heating, cooling and transport services; understanding the impact of electrifying heating and transport systems; and ensuring that transitioning away from fossil fuels is commercially viable. 

Return on investment

“Carbon reduction is necessary not only to support our sustainability commitments, but also to make our business more efficient,” says David Merefield, Carbon, Utilities and Engineering Manager at Sainsbury’s. Working with an academic partner brings independence to the process, he says. 

Imperial was already working with Sainsbury’s on a number of long-term projects, so a new partnership made perfect sense. “It enables us to explore opportunities as part of the feasibility process in a different way, drawing on additional research and learning to ensure the decisions we make are balanced and right for the business,” says Merefield. “When two brands come together with similar goals and objectives, it’s easy to set up partnerships and to create new ways of working.” 

Start the conversation

Dr Viraj Perera, Director of Industry Partnerships and Commercialisation (Natural Sciences)

Deep change requires teamwork. And for BASF, the world’s largest producer of chemicals, that teamwork now includes a major partnership with Imperial, one of just a few universities worldwide that the company has chosen to work with as a strategic partner. 

The exciting and wide-ranging multi-disciplinary research brings together experts in disciplines that include not only chemistry and chemical engineering but also maths and computing. 

Dozens of Imperial researchers across these fields are working with BASF on advanced research that is helping create more high-tech, sustainable and efficient chemical industries. 

Professor Mimi Hii leads one of the key research groups involved. “Much of our work is about working with responsible organisations to find sustainable solutions which will reduce their carbon footprint,” she says. “Taken together, it gives us the chance to work on real-world processes and collectively make genuine impact on sustainability.” 

To achieve these vital improvements in efficiency and sustainability, a major focus is the development of modern continuous production methods known as flow chemistry for the synthesis of low-volume, high-value products such as pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and speciality chemicals. 

Digitisation will also play a key role: drawing on one of Imperial’s key strengths, several researchers are working on applying digital technologies such as machine learning to automate and optimise chemical R&D and manufacturing. 

Primary partners 

Hii says that BASF’s forward-thinking and collaborative approach has always looked outside the immediate organisation, bringing in external expertise to encourage innovation. “It’s incredibly fulfilling to deliver our research and to then see it in the client’s processes. It’s very beneficial to both sides.” 

“We appreciate the excellent infrastructure and cutting-edge research at Imperial,” says Dr Christian Holtze, Academic Partnership Developer and Principal Scientist for Flow Chemistry at BASF. “The cross-disciplinary approach and the impact-driven mindset are why we’ve selected Imperial as our primary academic partner in the UK – one of a select few strategic partners worldwide.” 

Is this you?

Do you want to help guide the next generation of innovators? Whether giving feedback on a pitch or helping a startup navigate the intricacies of IP, Imperial offers great opportunities to qualified mentors. 

Could you join more than 75 professionals at the Experts-in-Residence Service, providing tailored support for startups – for example, on issues such as patent application or legal questions? 

Or perhaps you could work long term with a startup moving to the next stage, via the Imperial Venture Mentoring Service (IVMS). Its mentors have now worked with more than 110 ventures that have collectively gone on to raise more than £55 million. 

Alternatively, there are plenty of ad hoc opportunities to run workshops or provide help, without making a specific, set annual commitment. 

What to expect

Once you’ve decided you’d like to help – whatever your field of expertise – just get in touch with Imperial Enterprise. We’ll work with you to help you find exactly the right place for you and your experience, and we’ll help it go smoothly by supporting your mentoring activity. 

Mentees get training too, to make sure they understand what to expect, the commitment required, and how to make the most of your involvement. Not sure where you might fit in? That’s fine. We welcome a variety of expertise and are delighted to help you find the right opportunity to get involved. 

For an informal chat about the range of mentoring opportunities available at Imperial, whether that’s working with individuals, startups or established ventures hoping to take the next step, talk to us about how you can make the best use of your expertise. 

How it will work

Like many dementia sufferers, Pat struggled to drink enough water: dehydration is one of the leading causes of death for people with the condition. After her grandson, Lewis Hornby, witnessed her struggle with dehydration, and after spending a year living in her care home, he was inspired to create Jelly Drops – super-hydrating sweets to help people with dementia get enough liquid. 

But he needed help to take his idea to market – so, as an Imperial student, he applied to IVMS. “The IVMS mentors have been invaluable to Jelly Drops’ success,” says Hornby. “Since we started working together, we have raised £500k investment, built a production facility and launched the product. 

“It is invaluable to have impartial advisers who are not invested in the company but are still willing and able to share their extensive business-building experience.” 

Return on investment

Paying it forward isn’t a one-way street – mentoring can be hugely rewarding for everyone concerned. It’s not just about being part of a world-leading community of talented students and researchers, either, but also being instrumental in driving forward Imperial’s thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem. 

“The quality of the other mentors is amazing,” says marketing strategy and brand consultant Stella Hartley, who has mentored Imperial startups including Bia-Care, Community, Get Football and Hectar Farming. 

“I’ve learnt a lot from them and enjoyed their company. IVMS offers startups an invaluable support network and a shortcut to business wisdom that would take years to accumulate. I feel I have been able to add value in terms of offering practical consumer-facing experience and access to a useful network.” 

Start the conversation

Dr Simon Hepworth, Director of Enterprise

“The UK desperately needs to get better at commercialising its intellectual property. For our size, we’re disproportionally good at generating ‘commercialisable’ ideas – but we’re still not good at actually commercialising them. We’re much better at generating IP in our universities than we are at turning it into companies, revenue and jobs 

Partly by luck and partly by judgment, I’ve had a degree of success in turning spin-out companies into commercially viable companies. And it’s important to try and help those who are coming up behind me. That’s why I mentor for the Imperial Venture Mentoring Service (IVMS). 

We will not compete on the global stage by making things to cost. Instead, we will build and sustain an economy that gives our children job opportunities and a future by building businesses differentiated by IP. Markets have never been so global – and the technology to access them has never been so inexpensive. As a mentor, I want to encourage people who have ideas to think globally – luckily, Imperial is a very international place to start with. 

At IVMS, I mentor teams of mainly postgraduate research students, sometimes with academic participation. It’s hugely important that these teams think in terms of commercial application and have the courage to have a go. My role as a mentor is to keep them grounded, without in any way diminishing their energy and positivity. It’s coming to them with a glass half-full approach. It’s not about warning them what they have missed, but about getting them to think about things they haven’t thought about, and the risks they need to be aware of – while sustaining their belief that they can transform the world. 

Inspirational mentors 

The IVMS team does a great job in pre-qualifying these student teams before they come to us mentors, to ensure that our time is used wisely. We’d love to see them get to commercial viability. If they don’t make it this time, the hope is that they have learned enough for their next project to be a success. It’s particularly inspiring for me to see that our teams have a good gender balance, with women in management and leadership positions – which my profession of engineering has not yet achieved. 

I was lucky enough to be guided in my corporate career by several good bosses, but when I struck out on my own, I would have been very glad of someone who didn’t have a financial interest. That’s a key part of the IVMS mentorship: we all sign up to clear rules around not having a financial interest in the enterprise that we are mentoring. That makes it very different from being mentored by a boss or an investor. In those roles, you offer guidance and share experience – but of course you have your own agenda. A mentee cannot reject your advice. In my Imperial mentorship role, mentees are free to decide. And, of course, an emotionally intelligent mentee will always express appreciation for advice, even if they have no intention of following it. 

Energy, positivity and intellect 

Being a mentor is hugely rewarding. You are tapping into a huge well of energy, positivity and intellect. It’s quite humbling, frankly, but in the most positive way possible. I learn at least as much from the people I mentor as they learn from me. 

It keeps me up to speed with what’s happening – not just in technology terms but how people are learning, which is quite different from how I learned. 

For anyone who has retained any degree of pride and passion in building businesses based on science and technology, this is a chance to help others do the same. If you want to see this aspect of the country do well, share what you have learned. You will be sharing it with people who are hungry for it and who are intellectually equipped and keen to absorb it. I can’t encourage potential mentors enough.” 

Is this you?

You want to solve the world’s biggest challenges – antibiotic resistance, climate change, cybersecurity – and so do we. You have the vision: we have technology to help realise it. 

If you’re searching for research and transformational technology with vast potential for commercialisation, our world-class academics and startups are ready for your call. That’s how we’ve already helped companies like yours take our technologies from a wide range of fields, including automotive, electronics, diagnostics, therapeutics, medtech and software – and make them go global with maximum impact. 

And if you’d rather harness our researchers’ expertise to work on your own research with IP potential, we’re eager to work with you to take it to the next level. 

What you can access

Antibiotic resistance is a growing and terrifying challenge with the potential to cause an estimated ten million deaths a year by 2050. Using the right antibiotic is key in preventing increased resistance. But there’s no quick way to detect the spread of antibiotic resistance. Clinicians therefore must shoot in the dark. 

Dr Gerald Larrouy-Maumus at the MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection has found a way of rapidly testing for bacterial infections that are resistant to antibiotics of last resort. The new test can be carried out at the point of need and the result takes just 30 minutes to come through rather than the usual one to two days. Without an industry partner, this breakthrough would still be in the lab. 

Return on investment

Bruker Daltonics, the global mass spectrometry and diagnostic company, was quick to realise the technology’s potential. “There was and is a common idea and spirit to create an innovative future diagnostic, to improve healthcare,” says Dr Markus Kostrzewa, Executive Vice President Innovation of Bruker’s Microbiology and Diagnostics Division. 

Through a research partnership with Imperial, it has created and launched the MBT Lipid Xtract™ Kit, which is now available for research use. Analyses can be performed in less than an hour – much faster than currently available phenotypic tests. Bruker Daltonics is now intending to develop a diagnostic solution based on Imperial’s technology that can be used in hospitals – enabling clinicians to make a much faster decision on the most appropriate therapy for patients with bacterial infections. 

Next steps

We want the world to easily see all the innovation we’ve got to offer. That’s why anyone can view all our current technologies available for licensing: simply check out Imperial.tech, the platform we use to promote Imperial researchers’ innovative technologies. 

We carry out due diligence on all our technologies to ensure product claims can be substantiated, that the same technology does not exist already, and that it has commercial potential. 

Seen something that interests you? Give us a call. You’ll then work with our expert teams who will smooth the translation journey from lab to real-world impact. Or if you want to work with us to help you create entirely new research with IP potential, let’s get that conversation started. 

Start the conversation

Dr Viraj Perera, Director of Industry Partnerships and Commercialisation (Natural Sciences)

In 2020, Dr Michael Baker joined biotechnology company Arovella Therapeutics as CEO with a mission: to find new and transformational technologies to license and use to create new treatments. “We scoured the globe,” he says. “We wanted something with exciting pre-clinical data and genuine real-world potential.” 

That search led him to Professor Tassos Karadimitris’s work on the invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cell, a rare type of immune cell that works alongside antibodies and T cells as part of the body’s natural immune defences. The two connected and talked. “Having that ability to talk to Professor Karadimitris was really important,” says Baker. “It led to a very collaborative and collegial relationship.” 

Karadimitris’s approach, known as CAR-iNKT, resembles an existing advanced form of medicine, CAR-T therapy, currently successfully used to treat certain blood cancers. 

Conventional T cells cannot be transplanted from one person to another, because they attack the recipient’s cells. So, in CAR-T therapy, cells are taken from the patient and genetically modified to produce a bespoke medicine. This is expensive, costing upwards of £200,000 per treatment. 

A world-class team 

The new approach has several advantages: most notably, that it can be produced as an off-the-shelf treatment. iNKT cells can be transplanted from person to person. And Karadimitris’s research has found a way for donated cells to be mass produced – at a much lower cost. 

Through Imperial Enterprise, intellectual property generated by Karadimitris and his team has now been licensed to Arovella. Alongside the licensing agreement, Karadimitris and colleagues will now carry out collaborative research with Arovella, and Karadimitris himself chairs Arovella’s Scientific Advisory Board for the programme. “I wasn’t even aware that my work might attract this attention, though of course we believed strongly in its therapeutic potential,” says Karadimitris. “The connection with Arovella came about entirely because my work was promoted by Imperial Enterprise.”