Saturday 8 February 2014

Want to be a successful entrepreneur? try a doctorate

The recent sale of London tech start-up DeepMind to Google for a reported £400m is the latest in a series of deals highlighting the ever-increasing entrepreneurial spirit of Britain's scientists - and does much to dispel the myth that the UK is good at science but poor at innovation and enterprise.
It was particularly noteworthy that the founder Demis Hassabis, a computer science graduate, having achieved some initial commercial success, decided to carry out postgraduate research in neuroscience at UCL en route to founding DeepMind. This serves as a reminder that postgraduate research can be an effective route, not simply to an academic or research-based career, but also as a successful entrepreneur.

The skills that are essential for research provides an extraordinarily good training to be an entrepreneur: analysis of complex problems, the ability to remain focused under pressure, a commitment to hard work and - most importantly - a willingness to fail and keep trying. 

Dr Hassabis reflects on the increasing importance of research and innovation at disciplinary boundaries - in DeepMind's case, between computer science and neuroscience. It is likely that such cross-displinary innovation will largely emerge from those who have invested their time and energy in postgraduate research. The UK's doctoral student community is brimming with many budding entrepreneurs - but we need to equip them with the capital, expertise, mentorship and facilities necessary for successful business development - if we are to turn that promise into value for Britain's economy. 

Material progress on Drug Resistant Infections

The  O’Neill Review  on AntiMicrobial Resistance has led to new initiatives on the development of new diagnostics and drugs along with ...