Innovation UK > News > Innovation UK Vol5-2 > Durham University

The University is organised into three academic faculties: arts and humanities, science, and social sciences and health, made up of 25 departments or schools. It employs over 3,000 staff and has an annual turnover of £210m. Additionally, the Durham Business School is known worldwide for its innovative approach to business education.

Few universities have comparable research strengths across the Sciences, Social Sciences, and Arts and Humanities; yet Durham is compact and interactive enough to develop new approaches, questions and research ideas that transcend discipline boundaries. Our Institute of Hazard and Risk Research (www.dur.ac.uk/ihrr) is demonstrating the power of such genuine interdisciplinary activity.

?In the 2008 research assessment exercise 90% of our research was deemed of international quality, with 78% either internationally ?excellent? or ?world leading?.

A further example is the Wolfson Research Institute (WRI, www.dur.ac.uk/wolfson.institute) which brings together and develops a wide range of research on human health and wellbeing across the natural and social sciences and the humanities. Over 130 WRI Fellows from 10 academic departments are pioneering new interdisciplinary approaches, from the role of primary care and public health in tackling health inequalities to the new intellectual field of medical humanities. The Institute occupies a striking purpose-built waterfront building at the University?s Queen?s Campus Stockton which is being developed to generate new educational and economic opportunities in the Tees Valley. The Institute combines its commitment to world-class research with strong partnerships with public services, health and regeneration agencies in North East England, particularly the NHS. These focus on applied research and developing new products and tools to improve health and quality of life, especially among disadvantaged groups where there is most potential to make a difference.

Sharing our knowledge

We proactively protect IPR generated by research and currently have interests in over 70 discrete patent families. Healthcare and Life Sciences represent a significant proportion of our portfolio. Projects are taken forward as spin-out companies, licensing deals or industrial collaborations.

Durham spin-outs include: Reinnervate (www.reinnervate.com), Durham Magneto-optics (www.durhammagnetooptics.com), Geospatial Research (www.geospatial-research.com), Fscan (www.fscanltd.com), Surface Innovations (www.surface-innovations.com), Creative Gene Technology (www.creativegenetech.com), Durham Pipeline Technology (www.dpt.co.uk) and Kromek (www.kromek.com). The latter is now a flagship company of the North East Technology Park (NETPark) at Sedgefield.

Licensing and/or industrial collaboration opportunities currently being pursued include:

• Improved Microgripper for Cell Manipulation;
• Point of Care Diagnosis of Cystic Fibrosis;
• Electrochemical Method to Determine the Chirality of Drug Precursors;
• Strategies for providing specific, safe and broadspectrum anti-protozoal drugs for diseases including Leishmaniases, African sleeping sickness, Chagas? disease and Toxoplasmosis.

Further opportunities can be found at http://www.dur.ac.uk/technology.transfer/licensing

Durham is actively seeking close interaction with:

• companies looking to access technologies through collaboration or licensing;
• investors seeking exciting high-growth opportunities;
• experienced commercial managers wishing to engage in our spin-out activity.

Durham also offers a range of opportunities for working with businesses in research and our graduates and postgraduates are recruited by businesses throughout the world. Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) grants can provide an ideal way of working on a specific project with the involvement of a graduate in collaboration with the University.

The University?s consultancy units routinely work with business regionally, within the UK and worldwide to improve competitiveness and results in both the public and private sectors. We have an extensive range of stateof- the-art analytical equipment and facilities based in Science and Social Sciences and Health faculties which can be accessed by businesses and other organisations.

If you are interested in finding out more please contact:
Dr Jennifer Thompson
Tel: +44 (0)191 334 4643
Website: www.dur.ac.uk/business
or
Dr Tim Hammond
Tel: +44 (0)191 334 3189
Website: www.dur.ac.uk/technology.transfer