Royal Society announces recipients of first Entrepreneurs in Residence scheme

Nineteen enterprising businesspeople with backgrounds including Shell, GSK and Siemens have been appointed as the Royal Society’s first Entrepreneurs in Residence at the annual ‘Labs to Riches’ event.

The recipients will help commercialise world-leading research and address skills gaps in industries like energy, transportation and data science by using their real-world experience to help foster an entrepreneurial culture within universities and develop curricula that produce industry-ready graduates.

Previously the preserve of venture capital firms, Entrepreneur in Residence schemes have become more commonplace in business schools like Harvard, Stanford and MIT.

The Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of science, has set up its own Entrepreneur in Residence scheme to support UK universities in translating their world-leading research into new businesses and commercial products. These individuals were chosen, by Fellows of the Royal Society and experts in the field, based upon their industrial and entrepreneurial experience and the impacts they could have on their University, its staff and students and the wider economy.

The successful applicants are funded to spend 20% of their time working in residence at a host University of their choosing over the next two years, sharing their real-world expertise and entrepreneurial practice with students and academia.

Dr Hermann Hauser KBE FREng FRS, science entrepreneur and Fellow of the Royal Society, said:

“Companies in our knowledge-based economy are urgently reporting skills shortages across the UK because too many science graduates are failing to understand how to pursue a career in industry. Businesses are increasingly seeing this as a problem.

“Our Entrepreneurs in Residence are leaders in their field, and their real-world expertise on campus will enhance the flow of ideas between our world-leading scientists and industry. They will advise and mentor students and staff, as well as teach industry-relevant courses and curricula.

“They will also help academia understanding problems faced by industry and improve the commercial potential of their research. Our future national prosperity counts on it.”

The full list of Entrepreneurs in Residence and their host institutions:

Dr Fiona Riddoch, Independent Consultant
Hosted at University of Edinburgh

Professor Rob Lee, Senior Principal Scientist, Shell plc
University of Exeter

Dr Pedro Baiz, Chief Technology Officer, WisConT
Imperial College London

Dr Christopher Finnis, Director, Finnis UK Ltd
University of Leicester

Dr Adam Hill, Senior Data Scientists, HAL24K
University of Southampton

Dr David Tew, Director, Biological Technologies, Advanced Manufacturing Technology, GSK
University of Bristol 

Mr Ben Whitaker, Founder, Masabi Ltd
UCL 

Mr James Otter, Director, Ellipson Ltd
University of Southampton

Dr Peter Hotten, Director, Nuage Vision Ltd
Swansea University

Dr Peter Mountney, Senior Staff Scientist, Siemens Healthineers Ltd
UCL 

Mr Roger Killen, consultant (Killen Consulting)
University of Exeter

Dr David King
University of Durham

Dr Adrian Walters, Chief Operating Officer, Hexigone Inhibitors Ltd
Swansea University

Dr Charles King, Senior Partner, Ceaking Solutions LLP
Oxford Brookes University

Professor Andrew Lewis, Vice President Research & Development, Innovation, Biocompatibles UK (part of BTG plc)
University of Brighton

Mrs Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne, Founder of Genius Foods Ltd
University of Edinburgh

Dr Gil Travish, Chief Scientific Officer, Adaptix Ltd
Nottingham Trent University

Dr Ceri Batchelder, self-employed consultant
University of Sheffield

Dr Adrian Burden, MD, Innovate Malvern CIC
University of Birmingham

This scheme is part of the Royal Society's Science and Industry programme.