Often, scientific developments being carried out at universities and colleges that could genuinely benefit humankind get no further than the research stage. In fact, a recent study by the Royal Society found that 53% of doctoral science students permanently leave their field within one year of graduating.

To help counter this issue, the Bristol Centre for Functional Nanomaterials (BCFN)  and Bristol Consulting Partnership (BCP) have formed a partnership to help wannabe science entrepreneurs develop their ideas into viable buinesses.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the changes in our students’ mind-set that stem from the SEE programme”

 

Based at science incubator Unit DX, the SEE programme will pair PhD students from Bristol University with new science businesses, so their research can be commercialised.

Over the course of 10 week-long sessions, BCP will help deliver training to 40 doctoral students, providing assistance to 10 scientific ventures from the University of Bristol. Those taking part will receive financial, marketing and business strategy training.

Annela Seddon, BCFN Director, says: “Business skills are vital to our graduates’ employability and I’m excited that the BCFN is pioneering in this area.”

She adds: “I’m looking forward to seeing the changes in our students’ mind-set that stem from the SEE programme.”

The SEE programme is open to applications from Doctoral Training Centres, research groups and individuals. For more information, please visit Consult Bristol.