Umeå University is renowned by its world-leading research and stimulating work environment; and you, as a postdoc, are playing an important role on it. Having the time and resources to explore new scientific ideas is the first step to groundbreaking discoveries, and here -right on campus!- you´ll find opportunities to meet and connect with people that can help you out moving those ideas forward.
This week at “Open up for innovation” we had the chance to meet up with colleagues from the Innovation office, Umeå Biotech Incubator and CU4LS. At the event attended representatives from Life Science companies and we learn more about how researchers can find and set collaborations with industry. So, how can we, from a postdoc position, participate or even start an industry-academic partnerships? Is that a path restricted only to PIs?
Well, certainly one could perceive that the meeting was very much aimed at PIs and established researchers -or at least that was my impression-; however, pressing the pause button in a system that is very much established around your “career age” is not advisable. So, for you who have an idea and want to get in the loop, here´s some tips to get the journey started. Hope it helps!
Explore the potential of your ideas. The innovation office is open to all researchers, students and employees at the University. They can offer assessment, coaching, and legal advice so to turn your idea and research results into novel products, methods, or services. Check the link below and do not hesitate to contact them, they are always open to listen from you! https://www.umu.se/en/innovation-office/
Get support. Once the idea is evaluated and refined, there are several ways to find collaborators and fundings. First step, it´s probably to get familiar with the Research Professional and Infrastructure portals. There you´ll find useful tools that will make your search easier:
- Research Infrastructure: https://www.umu.se/en/research/research-infrastructure/
- Research Professional: https://www.aurora.umu.se/en/education-and-research/support-for-research/research-planning/find-funding/
- Still having doubts about what´s the best call for you? The Support Research Office might have some good advice for you: https://www.umu.se/en/research-support-and-collaboration-office/
Get ready well in advance. Writing a good project proposal and finding the right partners take time. The innovation journey is not a solo trip, so building on networking and finding a good match are key. Here´s few suggested links where you can make some contacts:
- The Industrial Doctoral School: https://www.umu.se/foretagsforskarskolan/
- Uminova Innovation: https://www.uminovainnovation.se/
- And don´t forget about the Life Science pub, stay tuned for the next event: https://www.ubi.se/life-science-pub/
Heads-up!. These are some of the upcoming calls that might be of your interest:
- Bioinnovation hypothesis testing: https://www.vinnova.se/en/calls-for-proposals/the-strategic-innovation-program-bioinnovation/hypotesprovning-steg-1-2024/
- Collaborations through Horizon Europe: https://www.vinnova.se/en/m/horizon-europe/funding/
- Proof of Concept grant: https://www.scilifelab.se/proof-of-concept-grant-in-life-science/
Please note that this information is based on my own search and experience with the innovation office, so if I have missed something and you want to share some other information with the postdoc community, we´ll appreciate having your comments below!
Next blog post: 1st April. Title: Mentoring programmes and career development opportunities at Umeå University.
