- The Northern Triangle Talent Project has received £1.5m from the Research England Connecting Capability Fund (CCF) to accelerate the growth of intellectual property-rich startups and spinouts in Northern England
The Northern Triangle Talent Project, led by the University of Sheffield in partnership with the University of Leeds and the University of Manchester, is a collaborative project dedicated to creating a diverse and globally-focused talent community.
The three universities initially came together in 2018 to create the Northern Triangle Initiative and secured a £5 million award from the Research England Connecting Capabilities Fund (CCF). By 2020 the CCF had supported around 20 commercially viable projects, substantially improving commercialisation rates across the three universities, and generating a sustainable pipeline of university spinouts.
In 2022, the three Universities founded investment company Northern Gritstone to boost the commercialisation of university spin-out companies and IP-rich start-ups in the north of England. Northern Gritstone was founded with the philosophy of ‘profit with purpose’, combining attractive returns for shareholders with wider positive, societal and economic impact in the north of England and announced a first close of £215 million in May 2022.
With support from Research England and the Northern Triangle community, the project will focus on developing the talent ecosystem in the North of England.
This funding will accelerate the growth of intellectual property-rich startups and spinouts, enhance collaboration between academia and industry, and elevate the region's standing in innovation and talent development.
The Northern Triangle Talent Project will:
- Offer fellowships for Early Career Researchers to engage in the commercialisation journey at their University.
- Recruit sector experts to support our researchers and innovators
- Offer grants for spinouts to help fill skills gaps in their founders team by providing salary for suitable candidates to join their team
- Establish a world-class, inspirational and diverse mentor community engaged at all stages of the commercialisation process
- Develop best practice through co-delivered events and training between the three Universities
If you are an early career researcher at the University of Sheffield and would like to find out more about the Commercialisation journey and the Commercialisation Fellowship please contact commercialisationteam@sheffield.ac.uk