How to unlock the potential of academic research: The Power of Early-Stage valorisation and entrepreneurship with 4TU Ideation Labs! TU Delft's Impact Studio believes in the power of academic research to drive societal change and commercial innovation. The Ideation Labs, unites the strengths of four Dutch technical universities to amplify the societal impact of academic research.
Re-thinking entrepreneurship in our Ideation Labs: complementing “founder first” with “science first”
In the startup world, founders are often seen as the driving force behind success, but this view overlooks. The untapped societal and commercial potential of research lacks an entrepreneurial founder. Whereas researchers drive innovation at universities, expecting them to lead commercialisation or market introduction is often unrealistic.
Within the Ideation labs the “science first” approach shifts the focus to research itself, enabling researchers to contribute meaningfully without needing to become entrepreneurs. In the Ideation Labs, researchers are connected to entrepreneurial students and supported by workshops and coaches to explore the potential of the research outputs. This approach ensures that researchers can contribute without having to lead the entire commercialisation process.
