Extension Foundation’s Post

ICYMI: A recording of the IEE Seed Grant Webinar, titled "How to Prepare a Successful Seed Grant Proposal," is now available.

Unlock Funding for Your Research Collaboration: CRC Grants Round 25 Open Applications for Round 25 of the Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Grants program are now open, marking an exciting opportunity for Australian industries focused on research and development. This program is designed to support medium to long-term industry-led collaborations, aiming to address significant challenges within Australian sectors. Successful applicants have the chance to receive funding for up to 50% of eligible project costs, with the program not setting a specific limit on the amount of funding available. This flexibility ensures a wide range of projects can benefit, regardless of their scale. The selection of grants will be based on the quality of applications received and the funding available for this round. With the deadline set for 5 March 2024 at 5:00pm AEDT, now is the time to prepare and submit your application to take advantage of this grant opportunity. For a more detailed analysis and tips on applying, read more here: https://bit.ly/3td03jT

There is currently a big focus in the UK on the spin-out process - the formation of companies by universities based around uni generated IP. We have the recently released USIT guide for spinout terms. And we have the review commissioned by the Treasury into the commercialisation of university research. Everyone talks about the spinout bit. But we can only spinout the science and ideas that the tech transfer office knows about. Getting these ideas to the tto relies heavily on the academic scientist knowing enough about how the world works that they take their idea to the tto. For me, the spinouts we see (or the licenses that the universities manage to arrange, as an alternative to spinning out) are just a tiny fraction of what we COULD see - if the scientists doing the research know the importance of thinking commercially (the very antithesis of typical academic thinking) in order to get their research to have an impact, and the fundamentals of things like patentability (key being don't disclose before you file!!). Thank you to The Parliamentary Scientific Committee for publishing my thoughts on this other problem with tech transfer in their magazine Science in Parliament! #syntheticbiology #biotechnology #innovation #founders #postdoc #phd #techtransfer #spinouts

We hope these tips provide a practical starting point for optimizing your European Research Council (ERC) grant proposal. Thanks to Professors Florian Schur and Meytal Landau for joining our recent webinar (full video in the blog) and offering such great insight! #ElectronMicroscopy #cryoEM #LifeSciences