George Rice, Director of KEBE, at the ICURe 10th anniversary event
Nottingham Technology Ventures (NTV), the team behind the university’s portfolio of spin-out companies – which translate research into real-world impact – is this month celebrating the 10th anniversary of a research accelerator programme which has played a major part in their success.
The Innovation to Commercialisation of University Research (ICURe) Programme is a UK-based pre-accelerator that helps researchers explore the commercial potential of their innovations and celebrated its 10th birthday in February.
To mark the significant ICURe milestone, Dr George Rice, Director of Knowledge Exchange and Business Engagement, was invited to speak at a celebration event this month. University of Nottingham spin-out MatAlytics Ltd was also highlighted – in the official 10th anniversary impact report – a major recognition of Nottingham’s record for successful knowledge exchange.
Funded by Innovate UK, the ICURe programme provides training, funding, and mentorship to support market applications. Since 2014, it has helped secure around £500 million in investment through private funding, licensing, and research grants, leading to numerous spinouts and licensing agreements. The programme equips researchers with the skills and confidence to transition into commercial ventures, facilitates access to business advisors, and delivery partners, and helps turn ideas into impactful businesses.
George explained: “It was great to join technology transfer colleagues, investors, entrepreneurs and Innovate UK in Manchester to celebrate ICURe’s success and innovation. ICURe is continuing to evolve its approach, and Nottingham will continue to engage to accelerate a range of propositions towards finding their key market opportunities.”
“The Commercialisation team first engaged with ICURe in 2018 and to date, we have formed eight spin-out companies through the process. As well as creating those companies we have secured new partnerships and license agreements, and there are more in the pipeline.”
Spin-out MatAlytics Ltd, which specialises in AI software for the power industry to analyse and influence operational behaviour, was featured in the official ICURe 10th anniversary impact report, which was formally launched at the celebration: “We were delighted to have been selected as an example of best practice. The decision to showcase one of our spin-outs from the hundreds that ICURe has supported demonstrates how effective Nottingham’s expertise and support for commercialisation is, and we are very proud to be associated with the UK’s leading early-stage research pre-accelerator program.”
George went on to describe how the IP Commercialisation team have made full use of the training and resources ICURe provides, having worked with all of the programme’s national delivery partners in creating eight spinout companies, namely:
Dr Benedikt Engel, CEO at MatAlytics, said: “Coming from a purely academic background, I had little understanding of intellectual property, commercialisation, or how to spin out a company. The support from the University of Nottingham during ICURe and beyond was invaluable. George and his team brought a wealth of experience, guiding us through each stage of the journey – from shaping our business proposition during ICURe to successfully spinning out the company.”
Posted on Wednesday 19th February 2025