Building momentum in innovation and commercialisation at Portsmouth
Welcome to the second blog where I’ll be sharing reflections on the wider research and innovation landscape, and what it means for Portsmouth.
I was pleased recently to attend the Universities UK Future Innovators event in London with colleagues including Dr Chris Worrall, Head of Innovation, and Dr Louise Farrand, Head of IP and Commercialisation, alongside representatives from Revona Bio, the University of Portsmouth’s established spin‑out, and colleagues involved in ventures currently progressing towards spin‑out, VoxLith and Dandeliiion Technologies.
Professor Vikas Kumar, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation), Dr Chris Worrall, Head of Innovation, Dr Louise Farrand, Head of IP and Commercialisation and Dr Stavros Shiaeles representing his new venture VoxLith.
It was a valuable opportunity to showcase some of the exciting innovation taking place at Portsmouth and to be part of a wider national conversation about how universities can do more to support innovation-led growth. It was also a timely reminder that universities are not only places of research and learning, but places where ideas can be developed into new technologies, new businesses and wider social and economic benefit.
That is why I am so encouraged by the momentum we are seeing in innovation and commercialisation across the University. This is not just about one success or one project. We are seeing a stronger pipeline of activity emerging, better support for colleagues with promising ideas, and a more confident and connected approach to helping innovation move towards wider application and impact.
Much of this progress is being driven by the University’s IP and commercialisation team, comprising Louise Farrand, Matt Pullinger and Kev Stroud. Through their work, we are strengthening the support available to colleagues across the University and creating better conditions for innovation to grow.
Recent successes in the ICURe Discover programme are a strong example of that progress. ICURe is a nationally funded initiative that helps researchers test and externally validate the market potential of their ideas through customer discovery and targeted commercial training. Tia Fletcher has secured a place on the SETsquared ICURe Discover Women’s Sprint, while Mitch Lomax has secured a place on the ICURe Discover Programme for SnorkelForce: Revolutionary in-water breathing muscle trainer. These are excellent achievements in their own right, but they also point to something broader: Portsmouth is becoming more active and more successful in identifying and supporting ideas with commercial potential.
I am also particularly pleased that the University currently has one established spin‑out, Revona Bio, with three further opportunities at incorporation stage and progressing towards spin‑out. This represents a significant point of momentum for the University. It shows that our research and innovation activity is producing ideas with genuine external potential, and that we are becoming better at supporting those ideas as they develop into businesses, partnerships and practical solutions.
Alongside these visible successes, we are also putting in place the structures that will help us build for the future. I am therefore very pleased that our Shared Virtual Technology Transfer Office has now been approved by the University Executive Board. We have also held the first meeting of this new collaboration with partners from the University of Winchester, the University of Chichester, Southampton Solent University, Arts University Bournemouth and Health Sciences University.
This builds on earlier success through UKRI CCF Red funding, which supported the development of new approaches to commercialisation and collaboration between universities. What matters most now is that we are taking this work forward in a practical and sustainable way. By working collaboratively with regional partners, we can share expertise, strengthen access to support and create a stronger environment for commercialisation activity to grow.
Taken together, these developments show real progress. They point to a University that is strengthening its innovation pipeline, creating new opportunities for research to travel further, and building a more mature and ambitious commercialisation environment. That is important not only for the impact of our research, but for the wider strength, reputation and resilience of the University.
There is more to do, but the direction of travel is very positive. I am proud of what is being achieved and encouraged by the momentum we are continuing to build across innovation and commercialisation at Portsmouth.