Turn your idea into impact
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to take your research or idea and turn it into a real-world venture? The St Andrews Innovation Fellowship could be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for.
Now open for applications, this one-year programme supports University of St Andrews academics, researchers, post-docs and professional services staff who are ready to take the next step from idea to enterprise. Fellows receive buy-out support of up to £75,000, giving them time to focus on venture creation with the goal of reaching spin-out readiness.
In short, it’s a year dedicated to turning innovation into impact, with expert guidance and a supportive community to help along the way.
Fellows benefit from hands-on support through the St Andrews Innovation (SI) team, including a dedicated Project Manager, access to coaching, mentors, and investor networks.
The University supports the commercialisation of intellectual property (IP) through a structured stage gate process. This approach ensures that appropriate resources are allocated at the right time and provides a shared understanding of the commercialisation pathway for all stakeholders.
The two most common outcomes are licensing IP to third parties and formation of a spin-out company. Progression through the process requires successful completion of five gates. The fellowship is open to staff and post-docs who have reached Stage-Gate 3 (TRL 6–9) and are aiming to reach full spin-out status (Stage-Gate 4 / TRL 9) by the end of the year.
The fellowship also allows participants to continue appropriate research and supervision, ensuring academic work and entrepreneurial ambitions stay in sync.
Previous Fellows include Dr Ross Gillanders, from the School of Physics & Astronomy, and Professor Eli Zysman-Colman in the School of Chemistry.
Ross has been developing optical chemical sensors for over two decades. His work led to the creation of Lightwater Sensors, a spin-out focused on environmental monitoring — and an early success story for the Innovation Fellowship.
He said: “The fellowship really helped the commercialisation process by allowing me to focus completely on the company and getting the technology into the hands of end-users,” Ross says. “Having that full year meant I could do field work, travel to business conferences, and build my network. The team at the Entrepreneurship Centre were crucial, especially in handling the more business-oriented side of things.”
Since its founding in 2019, Lightwater Sensors has picked up several accolades, including the Converge Wildcard Prize (2020) and Scottish EDGE wins (2021), with continued growth supported by Scottish Enterprise grants.
Eli was the inaugural recipient of the St Andrews Innovation Fellowship — and his experience has paved the way for new ventures and discoveries.
He said: “The fellowship provided me the time to focus on progressing several entrepreneurial activities, which are now starting to bear fruit,” Eli explains. “There’s been new IP protection for emissive materials developed within my group, and I co-founded a spin-out, Chemicus, focused on productivity software for computational chemistry workflows.”
Alongside these ventures, Eli’s research group continues to thrive, recently securing an EPSRC Open Fellowship linked directly to impact activities supported by the Innovation Fellowship.
The Innovation Fellowship is more than funding, it’s a dedicated year to explore, experiment, and build something that lasts. Fellows work closely with the St Andrews Innovation team to develop business models, secure seed funding, and prepare for market entry, all while continuing to contribute to the University’s research excellence.
If you’ve ever thought “what if my idea could go further?”, this might be the ideal opportunity. Find out more and apply: St Andrews Innovation Fellowship.
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