Medical Technologies IKC | 6
SUSTAINING INNOVATION
Tackling unmet clinical needs through Translate
Translate was
launched by the
Medical Technologies
IKC in 2016 with the
aim of establishing
the Leeds City Region
as a national leader
in medical technology
innovation.
Bringing together researchers
at five regional universities with
industrial and clinical colleagues,
the programme, which is funded
through HEFCE Catalyst funding,
is developing vibrant new
partnerships to tackle unmet
clinical needs in areas such as
assisted living technologies for
dementia patients, wound care
and digital health.
The goal is to create a
sustainable community of
partners that are committed
to identifying and developing
new projects. This community
can then pool expertise to
bring in significant funding and
investment in order to grow
innovation capability within
the region.
The Medical Technologies
IKC has appointed dedicated
Technology Innovation Managers
to the programme to network
across the region, bring partners
together and support the
development of projects.
To kick-start project development
in a specific area, workshops
bring together academics with
colleagues from the Leeds City
Region Enterprise Partnership,
the NHS, companies and
not-for-profit organisations.
Each workshop focuses on the
challenges and issues around
an unmet clinical need and
identifies new approaches
to address these. The most
promising ideas are taken
forward, with the support of the
Technology Innovation Managers,
to build a business case and look
for further investment.
Realising medical technologies
innovation in the Leeds City Region
CDT Innovation programmes
Students in the
EPSRC Centre for
Doctoral Training in
Tissue Engineering
and Regenerative
Medicine – Innovation
in Medical and
Biological Engineering
(CDT TERM iMBE)
are developing their
innovation skills
through a module
developed by the
Medical Technologies
IKC in partnership
with Leeds University
Business School.
The course, called ‘Innovation
Management in Practice’, is
compulsory within the CDT
TERM iMBE, and is offered to
students undertaking the Medical
Engineering MSc. It requires
students to complete a reflective
dissertation on innovation
practices.
In addition, the Medical
Technologies IKC is supporting a
two-year programme of innovation
seminars, developed by Dr
Claire Brockett in the School of
Mechanical Engineering. Invited
speakers from industry, clinical
practice and academia lead the
sessions, which examine case
studies and stimulate discussion
and debate. Current themes
include understanding research
and knowledge as economic
drivers, and innovation in tissue
engineering.
The Career Transition Programme,
which students follow in Year 4,
has been hugely successful in
equipping students to take their
higher level skills into employment.
Implemented in partnership with
Career Management Coach, Ruth
Winden, and the CDT team
(Professor Joanne Tipper, Dr Claire
Brockett and Cheryl Harris), in its
initial year the programme led to
more than 70 per cent of final year
students securing roles by the end
of the programme.