De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) has recently secured a significant grant for initiating four new projects, all supported by Innovate UK, aiming to facilitate rapid innovation within the business sector.
The projects, collectively receiving £141,000, are slated for a four-month duration. They span across various disciplines, with three focusing on Health and Life Sciences and one on Computing, Engineering and Media.
An academic specialist will spearhead each project, collaborating closely with a business entity to foster an innovation with the potential to make a considerable impact on the business’s operations. The initiatives include:
- Alpha Biolaboratories Analytical Ltd, with Dr Urszula Krzeminska Ahmadzai, will refine a novel data analysis technique to enhance the success of non-invasive paternity tests.
- Genvolt Ltd and Professor Zeeshan Ahmad are working on a portable technology that promises more precise delivery of drug compounds.
- Micron Design, in collaboration with Professor Geoff Smith, is innovating to meet the rising demand for freeze-dried pharmaceuticals while improving efficiency and reducing environmental impact.
- Marlow Foods, alongside Dr Andrew Wright, is conducting a study to evaluate the heating and cooling systems of their facilities in support of their goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030.
Casey Randall from Alpha Biolaboratories expressed excitement about the AKT project, highlighting the value of partnering with academic experts to enhance their services, specifically their non-invasive prenatal paternity testing.
Dr Rhianna Briars, part of DMU’s Knowledge Exchange team, emphasized the importance of such awards as evidence of DMU’s commitment to applied research and its collaborative efforts to address industry challenges.
“It is great to have a mechanism from Innovate UK to do these rapid collaborative innovation projects which enables different types of activity that our researchers can engage with industry contacts on,
” she noted.
The AKT initiative was introduced by Innovate UK in 2022, and with these new projects, DMU’s tally of collaborations has risen to nine, encompassing partnerships with various businesses and third sector organizations.
