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Innovation, enterprise and research

Being enterprising with your research will lead to a wider research impact

  • What is enterprise?
  • Why is enterprise important?
  • How can you improve your skills in being enterprising?

How can you be more enterprising with your research?

There’s more need than ever for researchers and higher education institutions to demonstrate the impact and value of research, as well as to be commercially aware and competent.

So, how can you be more enterprising, and commercialise your research, to have more impact for yourself and your institution? Read our guide below on this topic to prepare.

A woman wearing a black dress with a red sash stands at a lectern in front of a screen to give a lecture.

What is enterprise?

  • An enterprise is a complex project or undertaking with a specific goal, the attainment of which is uncertain and challenging.
  • Because of the uncertainty of the route to achieving the goal, ‘being enterprising’ is required – with such attributes of taking initiative and resourcefulness.
  • Being enterprising can encapsulate using creativity and innovation to enhance practical solutions.
  • Enterprise is currently used to describe the practical application of research outcomes. This can result in benefits to other stakeholders, including the public, private and third sectors.
  • Those who lead an enterprise are called entrepreneurs when they work independently, and those who work for an enterprise within an organisation are called intrapreneurs.

Why is enterprise important?

  • Academic institutions provide extra value to the economy by contributing forms of enterprise such as knowledge exchange programmes between academia and other external stakeholders, or collaborative partnerships with industry and companies.
  • Due to global competition and financial and economic difficulties, universities have resorted to enterprise as a means of necessity and competitive advantage.
  • There is greater emphasis on entrepreneurship and university-based businesses.
  • The rise of higher education enterprise is also a result of the growing need to demonstrate impact beyond the research community as a research outcome.
  • Enterprising skills are seen as advantageous to ensure the most out of your skills and experience as a researcher.

How can you improve your skills in being enterprising?

Enterprise awareness and mindset

the current climate of an interest in enterprise, along with the need to prove the impact of research, means that as a researcher, you will need to create partnerships and knowledge exchange activities with non-academic organisations. You will also need to find opportunities to commercialise your research. You will need to learn about Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), knowledge exchange (KE), and other aspects to building a business such as business plan preparation, business model innovation and business finance. To help you get started, contact your innovation, KE or business development office to understand what training programmes are available, or if one-to-one support is possible. Another good starting point is to read the career stories of researchers who have become entrepreneurs, to learn the skills to be enterprising.

Identify enterprising opportunities

question which enterprising opportunities could come from your research and how you can best exploit these opportunities. Many enterprising opportunities come along the way, from ideas and discoveries during the process, not necessarily from the final outcome. Opportunities can also be created from lesser problems in research and their solutions – you could begin by questioning who else could benefit from your solution and where else might the solution be applicable? Seek out opportunities, or create your own, such as setting up a society, or a special interest group to develop your experience with enterprise activities. You could also search for small grants or awards for researcher-led initiatives. Your institution could also have an enterprise society that you can join.

Be aware of gaps and trends

develop an awareness of markets and trends in markets, as well as a sensitivity to gaps in markets. This will expand your thinking for how to be enterprising with your research as it will push you to consider your research field and how it interacts, or not, with commercial markets. This can be developed by building up your overall business awareness from networking, working in non-academic environments, and attendance at non-academic conferences and events – this interaction will hopefully lead you to defining your ideal customer, and then finding them.

Final takeaways

  • An enterprise is a complex project or undertaking with a specific goal, the attainment of which is uncertain and challenging.
  • Enterprising skills are seen as advantageous to ensure the most out of your skills and experience as a researcher.
  • Remember – many enterprising opportunities come along the way, from ideas and discoveries during the process, not necessarily from the final outcome.