The award forms part of BBSRC's Fostering innovation suite of competitions to promote excellence among researchers, knowledge exchange practitioners, departments and institutions by recognising successful approaches to innovation and impact in the biosciences.
Working in partnership with scientists and research organisations, the BBSRC competitions promote long-term strategies encouraging researchers and their institutions to accelerate the outcomes of world-class bioscience research to tangible economic and social benefits.
The Research Management Directorate (RMD) at King’s supports researchers at all stages of research development and award management, creating opportunities for innovative and enterprising early career researchers and postgraduate students. The RMD has run the BBSRC’s ‘Sparking Impact’ programme across the College since April last year, initiating over a dozen collaborations with industry. King’s will receive £100,000 to contribute to innovative Knowledge Exchange and Commercialisation (KEC) strategies fostering innovation from BBSRC-funded research.
The award recognised the RMD’s initiative in establishing and running the Sparking Impact competition, particularly in encouraging early career researchers to take part. The competition was designed to develop impact creation attitudes and project management skills, particularly in young researchers. The judging panel commended King's high engagement with small and medium enterprises (SMEs), acknowledging the need for such an incentive. At the competition finals, a project by Dr Manasi Nandi from the Institute of Pharmaceutical Science and Dr Mark Christie from the Centre for Integrative Biomedicine was showcased, along with a video compilation of five other Sparking Impact projects which have all generated partnerships with both large and small companies. Dr Nandi and Dr Christie’s project, a collaboration with mathematician Dr Philip Aston, involves the visualisation of blood pressure signals.
Michael Hill-King, Director of Partnerships and Consultancy at King’s College London, said: ‘Winning this award is fantastic. It validates the innovative approaches we have deployed to help our researchers get impact from their activities. This award will help us to build on the successes we have had in the biosciences.’
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