The University Innovation Centre’s R2B operations in 2020
Written by Janne Haverinen
In the 2020 spring and autumn Research-to-Business (R2B) funding application rounds, a record total of six new teams of university researchers and business experts received funding for preparation work aimed at the commercialisation of research results, and were granted total funding of more than EUR 2.5 million.
Researchers from different disciplines at the University of Oulu have shown growing interest in the commercialisation of research results. The university’s research groups are developing solutions for global phenomena and problems, with an annual commercial value of billions of euros. The role of the University Innovation Centre’s staff is to identify significant research results attained at the university and promote the harnessing of their commercial potential through cooperation with the researchers. Business Finland’s Research-to-Business funding is vital as a functional and key tool for this work.
In the Research-to-Business application round last September, teams from the University of Oulu presented innovative solutions on topics such as medical technology, well-being technology, the learning of the future, and utilising solar energy. The staff and researchers of the University Innovation Centre worked in close cooperation during the application stage to identify projects’ business potential and build teams. In the internal process, the teams presented their project idea to investors, who gave feedback to help the team further refine the business idea. Concerning the navigation of personal chemistry, the researcher teams were also joined by new members who would be responsible for commercialisation preparations, and who had familiarised themselves with the researchers’ ideas from an early stage.
Cooperation between the University Innovation Centre and the teams culminated in an event organised for Business Finland’s representatives at which the teams each gave a ten-minute presentation on their project, focusing on the market need, value proposition, benefits, competing solutions and business potential of their solution. Each team made use of the feedback received during the presentation in their own project plan, which was submitted to Business Finland’s electronic service around two weeks after the presentation and feedback session.
Projects that received funding in the application round last September were launched immediately in January 2021. These projects will conclude in the summer of 2022, when we may well witness the emergence of new and research-centric businesses. All the projects that received funding in 2020 are the result of long-term basic research of an internationally high quality. In the coming years, these projects will lead to new success stories for the Oulu region.
We are currently awaiting the results of the first 2021 R2B application period, which took place in March, as well as preparing for the next application round, which will open in the autumn. The University Innovation Centre’s preparations will again continue in August, but you’ll already be able to come and discover more about our operating model at our open information event in May. The schedules for the next R2B info events can be found in Patio.
We invite University of Oulu researchers from different disciplines to get in touch with the University Innovation Centre staff to find out more about R2B funding applications and projects. Together, we can bring your idea to life.
Janne Haverinen
Business Development Manager
+358 50 5172 355, janne.haverinen@oulu.fi
Technical Sciences; commercialization of research results, Proof-of-Concept and Business Finland R2B -fundings, innovations.