Innovation and Investment

About the Event

The EpiCentre in Haverhill is hosting a live debate, bringing together leading universities to share best practice on spinouts and commercialising Intellectual Property (IP).

Businesses and investors will have the chance to hear about the huge potential of working with top universities, while innovative companies will also be given the chance to pitch for funding from angel investors. The live debate will see the University of Cambridge and University of Oxford outline how they built their global reputations for supporting spinouts and entrepreneurial academics. Meanwhile the University of Essex will explain its progress to being the number one university for working with businesses through Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) and how it unlocked millions in angel investment for start-up businesses in the region.

Professor Andy Neely OBE is the Pro-Vice Chancellor for Enterprise and Business Relations at the University of Cambridge and Professor Chas Bountra who is Pro-Vice Chancellor for Innovation at the University of Oxford will be taking part in the live debate organised by The EpiCentre in Haverhill, part of Oxford Innovation’s network of 27 centres around the UK. They will share the work that is being done to support their scientific communities as well as creating infrastructure to assist entrepreneurial academics who want to take their research ideas and flourish through commercialisation.

Professor Chris Greer who is Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Essex will be joining to share an alternative perspective on supporting commercialisation. Essex has more than 40 active KTPs supported by funding from UKRI to encourage collaboration between businesses and university researchers, the highest number in the UK.

The event will share knowledge and best practice for commercialising new technologies and ideas to support the UK’s ambition to be a ‘science superpower’.

The second part of this event will be a showcase 6 innovative companies pitching for investment. A combined network of 630 angels made up of Oxford Investment Opportunity Network (OION) and Cambridge Angels will be invited to the live stream.

Logistics

Part 1 – The first part of the event will see the panel session being streamed live from The EpiCentre allowing people to listen to the discussion from a high profile group of Professors and Professionals.

Part 2 – The second part of the event we will hear from x6 pre-selected innovative companies to pitch to an online audience of investors as well as event attendees.

Date: Thursday 3rd March 2022

Time: 17.00-19.00

Schedule: A brief outline of the evening;

5:00pm Introduction by Tim Robinson – CEO Tech East

5:15pm Live Debate – University Spinouts, chaired by Tony Harris

6:00pm Pitch Presentations – chaired by Emmi Nicholl (Cambridge Angels) and Richard Cooper (OION)

6:55pm Close by Tim Robinson

7:00pm End

To register your place on this in-person event please use our Eventbrite link; https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/innovation-and-investment-event-tickets-252972807477

Pitch Programme – Application Process

If you are interested in pitching, please email Repicentre@oxin.co.uk to get a copy of the application form to apply.

The Panel

Professor Andy Neely OBE Professor Andy Neely OBE is the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Enterprise and Business Relations at the University of Cambridge and former Head of the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM). He was the Founding Director of the Centre for Digital Built Britain and the Cambridge Service Alliance. Professor Neely is widely recognised for his work on the servitisation of manufacturing, as well as his work on performance measurement and management. He received an OBE for services to Research and to University/Industry Collaboration in 2020. Professor Chas Bountra Chas is Pro-Vice Chancellor for Innovation at the University of Oxford, Professor of Translational Medicine in the Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, Director of the Centre for Medicines Discovery, and Professorial Fellow at Keble College, Oxford. Prior to coming back to Oxford in 2008, Chas was Vice President and Head of Biology at GlaxoSmithKline. Chas is an invited expert on several government and charitable research funding bodies, and an advisor for many academic, biotech and pharma drug discovery programmes. In 2012 he was voted one of the “top innovators in the industry”, in 2014 received the “Rita and John Cornforth Award” from the Royal Society of Chemistry, in 2017 and 2018 was voted “Master of the Bench” from the Medicine Maker Power List, and in 2018 was awarded the “Order of the British Empire” in the New Year’s Honours List. Professor Chris Greer Chris joined the University of Essex in 2020 as Pro-Vice-Chancellor Research and Professor of Sociology. For 15 years prior to this, he worked at City, University of London, where he helped to establish and grow Criminology within the Department of Sociology. Promoted to Professor of Criminology in 2013, Chris served as Associate Dean (Education) in the School of Arts and Social Sciences from 2013-2014, Head of the Department of Sociology from 2014-2017 and Dean of the School of Arts and Social Sciences from 2017-2020. Chris completed his MSSc (1997) and PhD (2001) at the Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Queen’s University Belfast, and worked at Northumbria University 2002-2005. Anthony Harris – NED, Business Angel, Fellow and Tutor – Clare Hall (Cambridge) Anthony is an entrepreneur, technologist, and IT industry veteran. After a career in systems programming, product marketing and product management in USA and UK he co-founded Software 2000. The company’s OEM software revolutionised colour desktop inkjet printing, and digital copiers world-wide. Anthony received the Prince of Wales award for Technology, appeared on UK and USA television, and was profiled in the ‘Sunday Times’. Since exiting he has invested in over fifty companies as a business angel and since 2014 has mentored entrepreneurs on the ‘Accelerate’ programme at the JBS (Cambridge). He is a member of the board of Cambridge Angels (Treasurer), a member of Cambridge Capital Group, Henley Business Angels, and Oxford Capital Partners’ co-investor circle. Anthony is also an academic and holds a PhD (Cantab), MA (Oxon), MA (Res), and is a Research Fellow of Clare Hall (Cambridge). Tim Robinson Tim is Chief Operating Officer of Tech East, the digital tech cluster organisation for the East of England. He is a founding board member of the UK Tech Cluster Group member. Prior to returning to the East of England Tim held general management and digital product development roles at Thomson Reuters, Informa and RICS. He is a non-executive director of UEA’s Norwich Business School and a board member of the New Anglia LEP Cultural Board.

Sponsor

Sponsor Mills & Reeve

Mills & Reeve is centred on achieving more for clients, their businesses and the wider communities we serve. Our clients and their industries benefit from our knowledge and learning – on everything from wellbeing, diversity and inclusion to global trends. The wider community benefits from a focus on sustainability in client and business decisions.

Clients get a consistent experience with no surprises – we tell them what they need to know, when they need to know it. Our sector and market expertise helps us understand clients’ issues. And our technology and innovations help them achieve more with less effort. We build personal relationships, with advice individually tailored to individual need. And if clients need things we don’t offer, we draw on our network to give recommendations.

Our 1,000 plus people and over 500 lawyers share one vision – achieving more for clients.

To register your place on this in-person event please use our Eventbrite link; https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/innovation-and-investment-event-tickets-252972807477