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Academics will be working with a range of companies on a new series of short-term projects designed to get innovative ideas off the drawing board and into reality.

Â鶹´«Ã½ Leicester (Â鶹´«Ã½) has won funding for five projects as part of the Government’s new £3m Accelerated Knowledge Transfer to Innovate programme. It was launched earlier this year to deliver short, fast and targeted projects that can make significant impact for a business.

Â鶹´«Ã½ won funding for all five applications it made, led by the university’s knowledge exchange team of Dr Rhianna Briars and Darsh Chauhan, working with academics across the university. Â鶹´«Ã½ was awarded more than £143,000.

Each project has a maximum funding amount of £35,000 and runs between two and four months.

Dr Briars said: “Â鶹´«Ã½ is always looking to collaborate with local businesses and SMEs to match our areas of expertise with companies in a way that adds real value to the region’s economy.

“We have been delighted with the response from businesses and our academics, and to have all five projects win funding is a great result.”

The projects which have won funding are:

• Designing new technology to support Deaf dancers and choreographers to create new work, with Serendipity Arts – Professor Tracy Harwood and Dr Dave Paget
• Designing new software for finance firm Spitfire Analytics to help save customers time and money – Dr Graeme Stuart
• Helping predict the strength of 3D printed components using a machine learning model – Dr Reza Baserinia and Gamlen Tableting Ltd
• Testing and creating more efficient furnaces that give a more predictable performance – Dr Abolfazi Zahedi and Dr Meisam Abdi, and Vacuum and Atmosphere Services
• Creating a database and search system to promote films in all languages - Dr Hiu Man Chan and Trinity Filmed Entertainment

 

Professor Harwood has worked with Serendipity for many years, including supporting the company with a Knowledge Transfer Partnership, which helped it to develop its range of digital products.  The company stages culturally diverse productions, champions Black artists and is a part of the region's National Portfolio, funded by Arts Council England.

She said: “The project we have developed is a fascinating opportunity to bring together creative technologies researchers with a local business that is really pushing the boundaries in how it supports creative communities with diverse needs. I love how our collaboration creates a space for innovation as well as gives us new challenges in the process.”