Set up by Prince Albert to organise the Great Exhibition of 1851 and extended in perpetuity to invest the profits in UK innovation, the Commission has been supporting promising research ever since. For 170 years it has provided crucial support to advance R&D and help to make UK industry more competitive internationally.
Through the Industrial Fellowships, the Commission brings together industry and academia to create commercially viable research and solutions for the mutual benefit of all. Fellows conduct their doctoral research with a company in their chosen industry, bringing academic expertise and approaches to a commercial operation. This enables students to investigate new ways of thinking about traditional problems, and forge exciting career opportunities. The programme also equips companies with cutting-edge research without the premium price tag and strengthens links between universities and commercial organisations.
This year’s Fellows will be developing new techniques for cancer diagnosis and treatment, bioreactors that can turn wastewater into energy, drugs to fight future human coronaviruses, and AI to help map pathways in the brain.
Industrial Fellowships provide funding of up to £100,000, covering salary contributions, university fees and costs for doctoral studies for up to 3 years of research. The output of such an investment is estimated at £2 million a year in intellectual property, developing crucial new technologies and scientific advances that advance research fields and British industrial players. During the Fellowship, students are provided with support from academic and industrial supervisors.
Bernard Taylor, Chairman of the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, said: “The Industrial Fellowship programme is a crucial link between British research institutions and businesses, with a specific focus on producing tangible, commercial benefits for all. This year is one of the largest ever cohorts of Industrial Fellows, representing some of the best and brightest researchers in British industry. Their work will bring together the new ideas of academia and the agility of industry, to make a significant impact in a wide range of fields, including biotechnology, artificial intelligence and telecommunications.”
The full list of 2021 Industrial Fellows are:
- Amelia Markfort, Photek Ltd and Leicester University: AI technologies for the next generation of quantum imaging
- Andrei-Claudiu Roibu, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd and the University of Oxford: Mapping brain network activity using deep learning
- Augusto-Diaz de Budalles, Oxford NanoSystems and University College London: Development of a multi-level nanocoating for enhanced efficiency of commercial Hydrogen gas production (PICTURED)
- Daire O’Dubhthaigh, Interface and Queen’s University Belfast: Smart green manufacturing for mass customisation in the textile industry
- Daniel Pybus, Mersen Teeside and Teeside University: 3D printing graphite from manufacturing waste using AI
- Daniya Aynetdinova, Vertex Pharmaceuticals and the University of Oxford: Creating new bonding processes to drive 3D drug development
- Elliott Smyth, LifeArc and the University of Leeds: Finding new anti-viral drugs to fight human coronaviruses
- Isobel Gordon, Perspectum and the University of Oxford: Optimising MRI methods to improve breast cancer detection and diagnosis
- Kyle Bowman, WASE and the University of Westminster: Development of autonomous reactors to turn wastewater into energy
- Liam Bussey, BT and the University of Birmingham: Investigating faster, better 5G through new quantum optical techniques
- Parijat Patel, Caristo Diagnostics Ltd and the University of Oxford: Using artificial intelligence to improve detection of cardiometabolic conditions
- Shefali Bhumbra, Adaptate Biotherapeutics and Imperial College London: Developing a medicine designed to modulate cancer patients’ immune system to selectively eliminate cancerous cells
- Thomas Corner, GlaxoSmithKline and the University of Oxford: Investigating and enzyme-suppressing drug to fight multiple cancers, including liver and pancreatic
Applications for the 2022 Industrial Fellowships are now open. To learn more visit the website here.
