A growing number of universities are looking to commercialise the knowledge academics have – and for very good reasons. The University of Suffolk is no different, so it was great to deliver our online “Communicating with Business” course with a brilliant bunch of staff from the University of Suffolk team.
Participants were from a broad spectrum of disciplines including:
- Adult Nursing
- Computer Games Programming & Computer Games Design
- Early Years Practice and Childhood Studies.
- Mental Health Nursing
- Sustainability
- Humanities and Social Sciences
- Sport and Exercise Physiology,
- School of Health and Sports Sciences.
- Health and Wellbeing and Psychology
Dr. Darren Coleman, who delivered the workshop outlines:
“A lot of academic research imparts insights that have the potential to deliver real commercial value. But the demands of academia can mean academic research is written in ways that can alienate those running a commercial business. This is such a shame because academic research uses far more robust and sophisticated methods than most commercial research firms. This means the insights generated by academic have the potential to be far more valuable.
Our “Communicating with Business” course helps members of academic staff think about how they can position and communicate their research so it resonates with people who are running commercial organisations in practical ways using straightforward language and presentation skills.
By the end of the course, it was rewarding to see the group untangle the complexities of their research and reframe it in ways that would deliver real value to people who run businesses.”