As one of the major research-led UK universities, Nottingham generates a significant number of new inventions, developing them from initial ideas to commercial business ventures. One such discovery that is now a vital technology used worldwide is Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) developed by Sir Peter Mansfield.
Our support for innovation attracts world-class academics who know that the infrastructure in place can take their inventions, ideas and new technologies to the global marketplace. Over the years, the University has formed more than 30 spin-out companies and currently manages 18 in the fields of:
- agriculture and the environment
- computer science
- engineering
- food science
- healthcare
- pharmaceuticals
As well as benefiting from the opportunity to work alongside these world-leading academics, many of our postgraduates also play a large part in the development of new technologies: the Operations Director of our spin-out company RegenTec, an independent research company working in the emerging field of tissue engineering, was a postdoctoral researcher working in the lab with the academics that formed the company.
Encouraging entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurial postgraduate students are well-supported at Nottingham. The University’s Institute for Enterprise and Innovation (UNIEI), one of the leading centres in Europe for the development of enterprise skills, brings together a high-profile team of senior academics and researchers from the UK, Europe, the United States and the Far East.
The Institute’s Enterpriselab provides practical business services including advice and mentoring, and its surgeries on finance, planning, marketing, intellectual property, taxation and funding provide excellent start-up support. New businesses can also make use of the Enterpriselab’s office suite as an operational base.
UNIEI and Enterpriselab ventures
Model Students, an agency that specialises in representing fashion models currently studying at the University was founded in September 2006 by two Nottingham students and a graduate. The company currently finds professional work for over 50 student models.
Ronfix, a Student IT Services Limited brand was founded in January 2008 by two Nottingham students. The company provides a comprehensive computer sales, repair and maintenance service, including an emergency call-out facility for students – all at affordable, student friendly prices.
Entrepreneurial studies
For postgraduates interested in studying entrepreneurship, UNIEI also offers a range of exciting postgraduate courses designed to develop entrepreneurial skills. Delivered through our academic schools, students can currently combine entrepreneurship with:
- chemistry
- computer science
- crop biotechnology
- electrical and electronic engineering
- sustainable energy