University research can produce promising technologies, but getting them out of the laboratory is another challenge entirely. For researchers exploring industry opportunities for PhD graduates, commercialisation offers a route to turn specialist knowledge into products, services and companies. Purdue University is giving three early-career researchers hands-on experience with exactly that process.
Key Takeaways
University research commercialisation requires navigating the path from lab discovery to market, often by either licensing technology or forming a start-up, with fellowship programmes aiding researchers in this transition.
- University fellowship programmes, like Purdue Innovates’ Commercialisation Fellowship, provide early-career researchers with practical experience in commercialising university technologies.
- A crucial decision in commercialisation is determining whether to license existing technology to a company or establish a new start-up.
- Commercialising research offers PhD graduates valuable industry experience and alternative career paths beyond academia by fostering collaboration between scientific and commercial expertise.
Research meets business
Purdue Innovates has selected three recent PhD graduates and postdoctoral researchers for its latest Commercialization Fellowship. Working with faculty inventors, they will help move university-owned technologies towards start-up creation or industry licensing.
Christian Lange is developing a single-photon source for potential quantum computing applications. Dylan Ryals is building Genobee, a genetics-driven service for commercial honey bee breeders. Brenson Jassim, meanwhile, is advancing modified peptide therapeutics initially targeting kidney damage after major heart surgery.
Together, their projects show that commercialising university research involves finding practical applications and choosing the right route to market. Such experience also creates industry opportunities for PhD graduates beyond traditional academic careers. Anyone going from academia to industry can gain valuable commercial knowledge by working with inventors, entrepreneurs and industry specialists.
Choosing between licence or launch
A key decision is whether to license university technology to an existing company or build a start-up around it. Purdue exposes fellows to both routes rather than treating every discovery as a new business.
Building connections along the way can also provide useful networking strategies for PhD graduates, bringing scientific and commercial expertise together. Ryals sees entrepreneurship as the best route for Genobee, while Lange hopes experienced teams can help take his research beyond the lab.
Those transitioning from academia to industry can therefore commercialise their discoveries without leaving research behind entirely. Are you exploring the idea of turning your research into a start-up? Get in touch with the team for a free intro chat via our contact page.