Industry connection
Top tips for partnerships
Successful collaborations need shared vision and mutual trust. Our experts help you identify ideal business partners and translate research into real-world innovations.
The best partnerships evolve beyond single projects into long-term relationships that create substantial value for both researchers and industry.
Book a discovery call
Map your research to the right industry partners and identify businesses most likely to collaborate with you.
We can assist you with:
- Identifying and engaging with external business partners
- Conducting due diligence on potential collaborators
- Facilitating meetings and workshops
- Building consortia
- Accessing funds to develop innovative ideas
- Preparing business-led funding applications
- Supporting ongoing collaborations to ensure all parties’ expectations are met
- Understanding the University’s policies and procedures for interacting with businesses
Top tips
- Network, network, network: Once you have something to share (without breaching confidentiality agreements or patent applications), get out there and talk about your research. Networking is key to spreading the word and finding opportunities.
- Prepare your elevator pitch: Summarise your research in simple, engaging terms that you can present in just a few minutes. Include a brief description about yourself, a clear explanation of your research, the problems it addresses, its unique aspects, and why potential partners should be interested in collaborating with you.
- Do your homework: To make a great first impression with a potential collaborator, do some homework on them. Understand what they are promoting and what their interests are.
- Identify mutual benefits: Understand your prospective collaborator’s goals and objectives and how you can support them. Highlight areas of your work that align with their interests.
- Qualify the opportunity: Ensure you are engaging with the decision-maker, confirm that your goals are aligned, and verify that they are in a position to collaborate effectively.
- Invest your time: Building a successful working relationship with a business takes time. Focus on nurturing the relationship, and over time, it will naturally grow and develop.
- Be responsive: Flexibility and responsiveness to the business needs are crucial. Find a way to manage the relationship alongside your other priorities, ensuring you meet agreed deadlines and deliverables.
- Stay open-minded and positive: Engaging with a new organisation can be stimulating and refreshing. These partnerships can lead to new research avenues. Approach each meeting with an open mind and a positive attitude.
We are here to support you to build collaborations and partnerships with business. This is central to our mission of making a positive impact in society. Our expert team is ready to guide and assist you every step of the way.