Support for university and research project leads
Your research could matter outside the university. We help you find the commercial case, the right partners and a route to funding, without burying you in business jargon.
Who this is for
You might be an academic with a promising result, a lead on a Knowledge Transfer Partnership, a spin out founder or someone in an enterprise or knowledge exchange office supporting them. You know the science and the grant process. The market is the unfamiliar part.
Why research struggles to cross into the market
Strong science, vague customer
You can describe the finding to a reviewer. Asked who would pay for it and why, the answer becomes a list of possible uses, none tested.
Partners who speak another language
A company wants a result by spring. Your team works to a funding cycle and a publication calendar. Expectations drift, and goodwill thins.
IP and ownership left until later
Who owns what, what can be shared and what the university expects are fuzzy. Investors and industry partners ask early, and vague answers stop conversations.
Founders who are also academics
A spin out founder is teaching, supervising and writing, with a company on the side. Decisions pile up and the business gets whatever hours are left.
How we help research reach people who will use it
Scope &
Strategy
We help you test who the first customers could be, shape a commercial case in plain language and decide which routes deserve effort, from industry partnerships to spin out, so the next step is clear.
About Scope & StrategySystems &
Solutions
We build the practical backbone of a project: shared trackers for partners and milestones, simple reporting for funders and a customer and contact record that survives when a postdoc moves on.
About Systems & SolutionsSecurity &
Support
Research often involves sensitive data and unpublished results. We help set sensible access, sharing and records so partners and funders can trust you, and we revisit it as the project and team change.
About Security & SupportQuestions people ask
How do I commercialise university research in the UK?
Begin with who has the problem your result solves and whether they would pay to fix it. Your institution's enterprise or technology transfer team will also advise on IP and routes such as licensing or a spin out. Rules differ between universities, so speak to yours early.
What is a Knowledge Transfer Partnership?
It is a collaboration between a business, a university or research organisation and a graduate associate who works on a defined project. It is part funded by public money. Terms and eligibility change, so check the current guidance on GOV.UK before planning around it.
Do I need a business plan to spin out a company?
You need something close to one, but shorter and more honest than the template. A clear problem, a customer, evidence you have talked to them, a view on IP and a realistic path to funding matter more than a forty page document.
How do I start with NYAS if I lead a research project?
Book a call. Tell us what the research does, what stage it is at and what feels stuck. We listen and give an honest view on whether we can help. There is no commitment, and you leave with something to think about either way.
Talk to us about university and research project leads.
You tell us what is going on. We tell you honestly whether we can help, and if we cannot, we will say so.