College Innovation, Engagement and Enterprise Strategy 2021-2025
Executive Summary
We will use the knowledge created in MVLS to develop the innovations, create the partnerships, and give our students the skills, to positively impact on local and global challenges, including driving innovation-led, inclusive economic growth for Glasgow and Scotland.
Introduction
The University of Glasgow has an ambitious five-year strategy to be The World-Changing University. As part of that, creating lasting impact is a key theme. The University strategy recognises that our research and discoveries are only the starting point. Through innovative partnerships with industry, policy engagements with governments and our role as a regional civic anchor, we are working to transform our ideas into action, using our skills to make a difference in everything from local problems to the global grand challenges of our age – changing the world at every scale.
The College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences (MVLS) is already playing a key role in addressing national and global challenges. Through our research and our graduates, we are improving health and quality of life for humans and animals across the globe. We are also creating impact for our local community, from our strong partnerships with industry and NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, to successfully attracting inward investment and creating high-value jobs for local people. Our response to the pandemic has demonstrated our agility, creativity and impact, by playing a key role in Covid-19 testing, variant detection and analysis, vaccine trials, and leadership.
But we have opportunities to raise our ambitions much further. The University’s Innovation Strategy sets out ambitious goals for the University to ‘have the scale and wherewithal to be a major contributor through new sectors, clusters and industries to the prosperity and well-being of Glasgow’ within 10-15 years.
MVLS has the ability and ambition to lead and accelerate the growth of local industry clusters, providing a competitive edge for Scotland and the UK. Our key role in the Glasgow Riverside Innovation District, including our partnerships with businesses and attraction of inward investment, has the potential to drive inclusive, regional economic development in Glasgow.
This strategy for Innovation, Engagement and Enterprise (IEE) sets out a framework to ensure that MVLS can play a leading role in the successful delivery of the University’s world-changing ambitions. This will extend from our renewed focus on making a positive difference to Glasgow as a civic university, playing a key role in implementation of the UK Innovation Strategy, ensuring that our research and innovations meet the needs of businesses, and by developing entrepreneurial mindsets to enable our innovations to tackle the major challenges faced by the UK and the world.
The scope of the IEE strategy is broad but segmented into three defined ‘strategic pillars’ which have been informed by wide consultation with staff and wider stakeholders. There is a place in the IEE strategy for everyone. All staff in MVLS should be able to relate and engage with one or more of the pillars, whether that be in commercialisation and enterprise activities to ensure that research is translated into useful products, services and jobs, or engaging in activities that benefit our local communities, address stakeholder needs, or support our students to be equipped for chosen careers outside academia.
Pillar 1: Driving Innovation & Enterprise
Our aim is to be a College which encourages, empowers, supports and rewards innovation and enterprise, including co-development with industry and listening to our stakeholders, to create new products and services, and drive economic and societal impact.
Our priorities:
- To embed a more pervasive culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, which fosters a commercial mindset, raises awareness of business/industry, and recognises innovation as a valued activity. Our culture should enable us to take risks, learn from failure and be opportunistic.
- To develop meaningful partnerships with businesses, government and third sector organisations worldwide for bi-directional knowledge exchange.
- To drive income generation through consortium building and partnering with industry, and being ready to grasp opportunities.
- To identify and nurture our translational pipeline and entrepreneurial talent.
- To engage with industry and other stakeholders to understand their innovation challenges, aligning our offerings with market demand, including cross-College collaborative solutions.
- To develop strong and compelling narratives, recognise our successes, and promote them on the international stage.
- To stimulate cross-College collaborations with a focus on innovation and stakeholder dialogue.
- To identify and develop a small number of new clusters of innovation.
- To utilise our innovation spaces and facilities for co-development with industry and grow our collaborations with existing tenant companies.
Pillar 2: Employability for Careers and Growing Entrepreneurs
Our aim is to be a College which ensures that all our staff and students have opportunities to develop knowledge and skills for innovation and entrepreneurship, and that our graduates are well-equipped for chosen careers outside academia.
Our priorities:
- To listen to our key stakeholders to understand the learning outcomes that they require in graduates, and engage with our stakeholders in co-development of new and enhanced offerings.
- To ensure our graduates and Early Career Researchers are ready for chosen careers outside academia.
- To harness our strategic relationships with industry and other stakeholders to bring experts to deliver specialist teaching (plenary lectures and masterclasses).
- ‘Preparing for Innovation’ – to embed key principles and considerations in current training and provide the tools to enable our staff and students to grow as entrepreneurs, in partnership with colleagues across the University.
- To leverage connections with our global alumni network to support our employability goals.
- To learn from our successes, including the skills development benefits of the Lighthouse Laboratory, and also to recognise where we can improve.
Pillar 3: Regional Economic and Societal Impact
Our aim is to benefit our local region by building strong civic partnerships and engaging with the needs of our communities. Our local environment will provide an ecosystem where innovation and venture creation flourishes and we are a go-to location for inward investment in life sciences and health.
Our priorities:
- To actively engage with our civic mission via our local and global communities.
- To accelerate innovation and inclusive economic growth across the greater Glasgow region through our proactive engagement in the Glasgow Riverside Innovation District.
- To benefit the health and wellbeing of our local communities across both human and animal health.
- To understand and actively engage with the broader needs of our civic partners and local communities and support the widening participation agenda to remove barriers to entry to higher education.
Vision
To use the knowledge created in MVLS to develop the innovations, create the partnerships, and give our students the skills, to positively impact on local and global challenges, including driving innovation-led, inclusive economic growth for Glasgow and Scotland.
Values
- Ambitious
- Innovative
- Collaborative
- Creative
- Impactful
Cross-cutting Themes
Stakeholder Dialogue
- (Stakeholder needs, our 'offering', CRM)
Internationalisation
- (Global connections, opportunities, inward investement)
Culture
- (Encouraging and rewarding innovation; accepting risk; inclusive)
Innovation Spaces
- (especially Living Lab, including Clinnical Innovation Zone / Health Innovation Hub)
Inputs
- Streamlined and responsive professional support.
- Business development expertise embedded locally.
- Account managers to develop and follow through strategic relationships.
- Understanding our stakeholder through dialogue.
- Understanding our pipelines.
- Culture that encourages and rewards innovation.
- Policies and support to develop entrepreneurship.
- KPIs to monitor and benchmark performance.
- Strong relationships with industry.
- Innovation spaces to support collaboration with industry.
Outcomes
- Income generation (including multi-partner, large awards).
- Increased collaborative research with industry.
- Agile, professional support for academic entrepreneurs in an environment that values enterprise.
- Business development support for developing strategic industry collaboration.
- Enhanced employability for students through alignment with stakeholder needs, industry placements and access to plenary lectures.
- Understanding our stakeholders through dialogue, with offerings to meet their needs.
- Learning opportunities for staff and students to support entrepreneurship and enterprise.
- Supporting Glasgow to prosper through better health and high value job creation.
- New and strengthened global partnerships.
- A growing pipeline of spin-outs.
- A welcoming place for industry to collaborate.
- Commercial activity that aligns with College priorities.