Training isn't our business.  Which is no doubt a strange thing to say when introducing our training services.  Our business is technology commercialisation and we've learned quite a bit about it over the years. 

We'd like you to benefit from this know-how without sitting through all of the meetings, making lots of mistakes and generally taking a few years out of your life.  So, in the absence of telepathy machines, we've condensed the best and most important bits into various workshops.

And the best thing about them is that they are targeted at researchers, covering the absolute essentials.  If you want to know more we're happy to help, but we don't burden everyone with all of the details.

Training options

First and foremost we have our Creating Value from Innovation Workshop.  This is all about how to turn you basic idea into something that someone else wants to pay a lot of money for.  It covers the whole of the commercialisation process over 2 days - quite a feat, I can tell you - and leaves participants with an action plan for taking their idea to market. 

We have a communicating with business half day workshop, which helps to avoid some fairly common pitfalls and downright disasters.

The six modules of the Creating Value Workshop can also be delivered individually.

Creating Value from Innovation Workshop

Our aim is to give researchers a practical understanding of the commercialisation process.  We make it relevant and interesting by using the researcher's own project to demonstrate how the process works.  Using a workbook, we gradually each project's commercial focus over the two days.  This produces the essential elements of a business plan.  It’s fast, it’s stimulating, it’s fun – don't just take our word for it.

As you can see, we cover a lot of ground!

So, what are the outcomes?  Well, we've proven that simply raising awareness increases the commercial potential of the new technology or idea.  Participants increase their skills and confidence to identify, develop and manage commercialisation opportunities.  They participants also learn how to interact and partner with industry, professionals and the customers of new technology. Which is a very good thing.

It can also be assessed and accredited by Coventry University.  Still not convinced?  Take a look at our top 10 reasons to train researchers in commercialisation.

Dates and places.

Communicating with business workshop

This is a new half-day workshop which is intended to help researchers communicate with the business world more effectively and prevent them from making daft mistakes.  Like discussing the idea without a non-disclosure agreement.  Or giving the idea away for nothing.  Or signing contracts that they're not authorised to.  And other similar problems that seem to happen all of the time. 

The workshop combines the background and project management & negotiation modules from the Creating Value workshop.  If you can't make it to the full workshop, come to this one!

Dates and places.

What happens at a workshops?

• 20 to 25 people from diverse backgrounds get to meet and share their considerable experience.
• Short, sharp presentations from commercialisation practitioners
• Short video presentations from international experts on innovation and commercialisation
• Work in groups to develop real ideas, using the guidelines that are introduced
• Completion of a workbook which, when completed, forms an action plan

Who delivers the workshops?

John and Nigel have spent many years supporting inventors, companies and university researchers through the commercialisation process.  They are fed up with seeing good ideas given away for next to nothing, so are doing what they can to redress the balance. 

What have past participants said about it? 

One of the start-up entrepreneurs who attended a previous course said that it was ‘a life changing experience’!  Now that’s not something that we can promise, but we think we can live up to the following (typical) comments: 

“Excellent presentation & content”

“Very useful and interactive”

"Very well organised”

“Materials easy to understand”

“Very informative”

“Flexible and personable trainers”

“Nice training style”

“Good and quite fun”