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Tranche 2: Second funding call now open!

The £6.75 million Innovation Launchpad Network+ is accelerating innovation by bringing together leading universities and the Catapult Network.

The Innovation Launchpad Network+ is building on a successful launch of its Researchers in Residence scheme with a second funding call, opening on 20th April 2023. 

The national research and innovation group’s first phase attracted more than 120 enquiries from 30+ different academic institutions across the UK, with all three key themes (NetZero, Resilience, Healthcare and Wellbeing) and all 9 Catapults represented in a fascinating portfolio of applications.

Academics can apply to the scheme now on the Expression of Interest page. More information on the scheme, including timelines and eligibility can be found here.

For a copy of the slides, please contact Paul Stimpson at p.j.stimpson@sheffield.ac.uk or watch the launch event back below.

Dr Peter Osborne, from the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) said: “The first round of the Researcher in Residence scheme attracted some really strong proposals across all three themes. In tranche 2 we hope to build on this initial interest and we would like to encourage applications from an even broader cross section of researchers from all four of the home nations. If you have some underpinning research that you would like to develop further with one or more of the Catapults then we would like to hear from you.”

The Innovation Launchpad Network+ is a national collaboration, led by the University of Sheffield along with the Universities of Leeds, Strathclyde, Warwick, Bristol and Exeter, and the Catapult Network. There are currently nine Catapults, each established by and working in partnership with Innovate UK. They support businesses across healthcare, energy, emerging technologies and manufacturing in transforming great ideas into valuable products and services. The network has been funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). 

The second round of funding demonstrates the Innovation Launchpad’s commitment to creating new links between individuals or groups and the Catapult Network, and is on track to delivering more than 100 world-class Researchers in Residence programmes which will have a huge impact on the UK government’s NetZero, Resilience and Healthcare and Wellbeing strategies.

Professor Ben Hicks

Co-Investigator for Resilience for the Innovation Launchpad Network+ 

“Recent global crises have highlighted the need for more resilient systems and underlined the important role that resilient systems play in meeting societal challenges. Residences in this theme will explore approaches, tools and technologies to improve the resilience of products, services and sociotechnical systems – thereby enabling them to anticipate, manage, recover and transform from unexpected events.”

Professor Fiona Charnley

Co-Investigator for NetZero for the Innovation Launchpad Network+ 

“It has been fantastic to see so many high-quality applications from our first round of Researcher in Residence applications and the motivation and ambition around the themes of Net Zero and the circular economy is particularly evident. We are looking forward to pushing this agenda even further in our second call for applications.”

Professor Alejandro Frangi

Co-Investigator for Healthcare & Wellbeing for the Innovation Launchpad Network+

“The first tranche of applications showed us there is a huge amount of technology, know-how and expertise out there in academic institutions that hasn’t been tapped into by industry. There’s a gap between what academia is doing and what industry is doing, and we need to bridge that gap. Researchers need support in bringing their technologies further within academia before they are at a stage where they will be attractive to industry. 

“Engage early on and don’t leave talking to the Catapults until the last minute. I’m absolutely convinced that when that connectivity between academia and the Catapults has happened well before submission, it has resulted in some really great proposals.”

Professor Ash Tiwari

Co-Investigator for Resilience for the Innovation Launchpad Network+ 

“Resilience as a research topic requires inter-disciplinary, cross-TRL collaborations across a number of areas covered by the Catapult Network. The Innovation Launchpad Network+ provides a unique opportunity for academic researchers to co-locate themselves with the 

Catapults and contribute to enhancing the resilience of complex real-life systems in areas such as manufacturing, infrastructure and healthcare. This theme also provides exciting opportunities for translation of research up the TRL scale using the industrial-scale facilities available at the Catapults.”

Additional information 

About the Catapult Network

The Catapult Network is composed of nine world-leading technology and innovation centres established by and working in partnership with Innovate UK. They support businesses in transforming great ideas into valuable products and services. They deliver impact across the UK economy, enabling businesses to thrive in global markets.

For more information visit the Catapult Network.

About the Researchers in Residence scheme

The Research in Residence (RiR) scheme promotes academic engagement and is designed to enable researchers to work within the Catapult environment as part of one or more centres, undertaking a project or activity in an area of strategic importance for Catapults. As well as increasing knowledge exchange and co-creation between academia and the Catapults, these awards allow the researcher to gain deeper application-specific knowledge across a range of sectors and nurture the talents and skills development across both research and Catapult.