Useful knowledge to realise the value of research results
2022-04-06

that doctoral student Arindam De Tarafder really appreciated about UU Innovation's credit-bearing
course on intellectual property in research. Photo: David Naylor.
Three questions to Arindam De Tarafder, PhD student in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology who took UU Innovation’s postgraduate course on intellectual property in research in the fall of 2021. A new round of the course is currently ongoing.
Why did you decide to register for the course?
“Entrepreneurship and innovation are two things that have always appealed to me. I would want my research to result in an actual real-life beneficial product. There is however a knowledge gap between academic research and the process of properly delivering/presenting the generated value. In my PhD curriculum, there is nothing that addresses this issue, and since this course promised to bridge this gap by providing information about intellectual property, patents and generating value from intellectual assets, I decided to take the course.”
What have you learned from the course? Any highlights?
“The most important thing I have learned from this course is how to identify and generate values from intellectual assets. The course provides insight into how one can develop, nurture and protect the research idea and turn it into an innovation that creates value. I also liked the lectures on patents and the exercises on ‘patent searches’. This was something new to me, and I thoroughly enjoyed the task of extracting information from patent databases using different keywords and Boolean operators.”
Why would you recommend other researchers at Uppsala University to the this course?
“I would recommend this course because it gives a very nice overview of how one can commercialise their research. The course timings are such that they will not take away a huge amount of time from a researcher’s schedule. The lectures and assignments are well-coordinated and they are greatly beneficial to the overall goal.”
FACTS: The course Intellectual property in research: strategies and practices
The course runs twice a year and includes four half-day seminars. It's open to PhD students and researchers from all disciplinary domains at Uppsala University, and also from the universities of Gävle and Dalarna. For PhD students, the course provides 3 ECTS in their postgraduate education. The course is provided by UU Innovation in collaboration with the Swedish Patent and Registration Office, PRV.
Updates and stories
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UU Innovation launches new credit-bearing course
Regardless of your research area, it is important to be knowledgeable about your knowledge
assets and how to best manage them. This is what you get in UU Innovation’s new course
“Strategic management of research results”, which is open for registration.
Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt.Hello there Nhils Forslund, advisor at UU Innovation and responsible for the course “Strategic management of research results”, which starts in May 2023 and is now open for registration.
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First Attractive Innovation Projects of the year
Here is this year’s first recipients of UU Innovation’s Attractive Innovation Project Award.
Photo: Sara Gredemark, David Naylor, Mikael Wallerstedt.Barely one quarter into 2023 and five projects have been awarded the Attractive Innovation Project Award by UU Innovation after significant progress on the path from idea to innovation. The promising innovations include rapid diagnostics for respiratory diseases, tools for innovation in organisations, and new radiotherapy for a currently incurable cancer.
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Summer job led to starting a business
Viktoria Engqvist’s summer job in Uppsala University’s Ångström Laboratory paved the way for
Lea Cares. The company is set to launch its first product in spring 2023.
Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt.Passionate about biology and chemistry, she can't resist a challenge or learning something new. Viktoria Engqvist is a pharmacy student at Uppsala University who runs her own business selling products for healthier nails, skin and hair.
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Support provided greater confidence for commercialisation
Marcus Wanselius turned to UU Innovation for support in reaching a wider target group with his
research results. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt.Marcus Wanselius began his doctoral project with a single goal – a finished dissertation. But once he had promising results in hand, he realised there could be more to it. He is now packaging his method for sale to the pharmaceutical industry.
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Start-ups from Uppsala University on inspirational trip to the US
In February, three start-up projects from Uppsala University will be taking part in an inspiration and
internationalisation programme in Boulder in the US as part of the Sireus collaborative project.
Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt.Hello there, Frida Henningsson Johnson, business advisor at UU Innovation, who’ll be taking three spin-off companies from Uppsala University to the innovation hub of Boulder in the US in February.
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Get publicity for your research
Eight research projects from Uppsala University made it onto IVA's 2022 100 list.
Photo: David Naylor, Mikael Wallerstedt, Ingrid Ajaxon.The application for the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences’ (IVA) 100 list 2023 is now open. Increase the publicity around your research, your contacts with the business community and the innovation readiness of your research results. Apply by 28 February 2023.
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Five innovation projects receive awards
Anna Överby Wernstedt and Ylva Ivarsson are one of the research teams that recently received the
Attractive Innovation Project award for their work in making research results useful to society. Photo: Ingrid Ajaxon.With the award Attractive Innovation Project, UU Innovation recognises researchers and students who have taken great steps towards translating ideas and research results into innovation and societal benefits. UU Innovation announces five new award winners of 2022.
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Desire to experiment provides starting point for new virus test
Researcher Liza Löf is now taking the plunge into the world of entrepreneurship with her
ambition of providing healthcare services with a new tool for rapid diagnosis of respiratory
diseases. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt.An enthusiastic researcher, a lab experiment that was actually supposed to go wrong, and dedicated innovation support. That is the recipe for how a new rapid test for diagnosing respiratory diseases could see the light of day.
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Aiming to improve the quality of care
Max Schoenberg is not afraid of challenges and wants to help improve healthcare with his business idea.
Photo: Hannes Rohrer.Max Schoenberg went all out to get into the Master's programme in Entrepreneurship at Uppsala University. And it was in Uppsala that he found the inspiration and support to dare to go for his idea. Now he is building a team to realise his vision of a solution for quality monitoring in healthcare.
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The researcher chose entrepreneurship
Emil Rosén founded the company Sapiron based on an idea he developed during his doctoral studies.
Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt.Most people do not go into academia because they want to become entrepreneurs. Neither did Emil Rosén, but the idea he developed during his doctoral studies was too promising to resist.
“It's not that dramatic. More than anything, I'm a problem solver.” -
Several innovation companies from Uppsala University on prestigious list
"We are proud to be selected as one of this year’s top 33 most innovative and promising companies in
Sweden," says Dragos Dancila, researcher at Ångström Laboratory and co-founder of Percy Roc.Each year, Sweden’s Ny Teknik magazine presents a list of the top 33 young tech companies in Sweden that are judged to be a leader of the future, and each year the innovative potential at Uppsala University is reflected in the list. This year’s top 33 list includes six innovation companies linked to research and education at the University.
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New Attractive Innovation Project Award winners announced
The team behind Virubustor is one of the new recipients of UU Innovation's Attractive Innovation
Project Award. Photo: Mark Harris.From an app that makes life easier for doctors to a new technique for cleaning the air inside vehicles, UU Innovation has announced four new winners of the Attractive Innovation Project Award among staff and students at Uppsala University.
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Apply for a spot in the UU Innovation Mentor Programme
Develop your idea faster and further by joining UU Innovation's mentor programme. It’s time to
apply for the spring 2023 semester. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt.Now you can apply to the UU Innovation Mentor Programme and gain new skills and networks to take your idea to the next level. Apply by 15 November 2022 for the chance to have a mentor for the spring 2023 semester.
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Strong team drives development of new eye disease treatment
By combining cutting-edge expertise in biological research with practical experience in drug
development, Elisabet Ohlin Sjöström and Lena Claesson-Welsh hope to bring a new drug to
the clinic. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt.It takes a wide range of skills to drive an innovation project forward. Lena Claesson-Welsh and Elisabet Ohlin Sjöström are drawing on each other’s strengths to jointly develop a new treatment option for severe eye diseases.
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UU Innovation Mentor Programme provides additional support to ten researchers
Micheline van Riemsdijk, a researcher at the Department of Human Geography and one of the
mentees in the programme. She is keen to turn her knowledge concerning the social
integration of highly qualified migrants into a practical solution. Photo: David Naylor.The UU Innovation Mentor Programme matches doctoral students and researchers with experienced mentors working outside academia. A new round has just started and all participants met with their mentors at the kick-off meeting to discover what awaits.
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The UU Innovation team grows stronger
Mathias Blob graduated as a Master of Divinity from Lund University and went on to become an
investor in innovation in Uppsala. He is taking on the role of business advisor at UU Innovation.
Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt.Hello, Mathias Blob! As of 1 September 2022, you are a business advisor at UU Innovation.
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Breathing new life into orchids
Traceability is central to their method. In the case of species they hand-pollinate, like the lady's
slipper orchid, they can even identify each plant's parents. Photo: Linus Söderquist.By pooling their knowledge of conservation genetics and orchid-growing, Linus Söderquist and Simon Hultby have developed a method to reintroduce endangered orchid species and strengthen their populations. The company they co-founded is now putting that method into practice.
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Hjärnäpplet award goes to Johan Elf and Özden Baltekin
Johan Elf and Özden Baltekin have developed the world’s fastest antibiotic susceptibility test.
Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt.In just 30 minutes, their test can determine which antibiotic is required to treat a urinary tract infection. Johan Elf and Özden Baltekin are recognised for their innovation, which will help reduce antibiotic resistance and advance personalised care.
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Popular 18th-century medicine in a new form
Nils-Otto Ahnfelt and Hjalmars Fors' work on recreating Hjärnes Testamente began as a research
project at the Department of History of Science and Ideas at Uppsala University.
Photo: Antidotarium AB.Hello to Nils-Otto Ahnfelt, PhD pharmacist and visiting researcher at the Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences. Together with the historian of science Hjalmar Fors, you have developed a reconstruction of the 300-year-old medicine Hjärnes Testamente in the form of a bitter schnapps. How did you come up with the idea of recreating an 18th-century medicine?
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“I want the method to be utilised, not stored in a drawer”
Robin Dürr had the chance to conduct his PhD in a project funded by the EU. With the possibility to
counteract climate change, he sees the direct application and impact of his research and how it
could be beneficial for society. Photo: Mariia PavliukWith his novel and patented method to fabricate a membrane electrode assembly, Robin Dürr, a PhD student in physical chemistry, hopes to accelerate the use of electrochemical cells and hence the transition to renewable energy sources. UU Innovation has asked him a few questions about his invention and the plan for getting it out into practical use.
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New approach to reduce shoplifting
With their startup Datana, Ali Jumaa and Adib Ahrari want to vitalise retail. The company recently
launched its first prototype using AI to prevent theft. Photo: DatanaAdib Ahrari and Ali Jumaa have started the company Datana together with five fellow students from Uppsala University and KTH Royal Institute of Technology. They aim to reduce thefts from shops using smart technology that helps store staff to work preventively.
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New chemical biology method aims at more specific disease diagnoses
Daniel Globisch, associate professor and former SciLifeLab fellow at Uppsala University, has
developed a new method for more specific diagnoses of metabolic diseases.
Photo: Mikael WallerstedtAre there more effective ways to detect diseases in biological samples than the standard ones today? A new method developed at Uppsala University seems promising. Daniel Globisch, an associate professor and former SciLifeLab fellow at Uppsala University, believes his method will be a tool for future clinical use.
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How innovation from Uppsala University can reduce antibiotic-resistant bacteria
Nikos Fatsis-Kavalopoulos and his research colleagues have developed a new method to determine
how effective a combination of two antibiotics can be in stopping bacterial growth. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt.Treating severe infections with a combination of antibiotics has long been standard practice in Swedish medicine. Despite this, at present there is no clinical test to prove how well it actually works. Researcher Nikos Fatsis-Kavalopoulos wants to change that.
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She is creating brilliant chances for cancer patients
Marika Nestor, Associate Professor of Medical Radiation Science at Uppsala University, is driving the
development of targeted radiopharmaceuticals for the treatment of a very serious form of cancer
where there is a lack of effective treatment. Photo: David Naylor.Radiopharmaceuticals that fight cancer are on the rise and Marika Nestor is doing everything she can to contribute to their development. An antibody from her lab offers hope for a future treatment for those affected by anaplastic thyroid cancer, a currently incurable form of cancer.
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Collecting recipes and the stories behind them
“When you look in the margins of these books and pages you can sometimes find children’s drawings.
It’s nice to see the things people leave behind," says Helga Müllneritsch. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt.Historical recipes and cookbooks abound to teach us about past foods and dietary. Less is known about the people who actually wrote them. A historical documentation project based in Uppsala University is trying to change that.
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In the head of a business advisor
Susanne Bredenberg and Ingrid Ajaxon work as business advisors at UU Innovation, and are always keen to hear more about new research from the University. Photo: Sara Gredemark. Hello there Susanne and Ingrid, business advisors at Uppsala University, who work in the field of utilisation and play a supportive role with both students and researchers.
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Honoured for progress from idea to innovation
Innovation projects for better health awarded by UU Innovation for success in attracting funding for further development. UU Innovation recognises research-based innovation projects that have engaged funders, investors and customers for further development and exploitation. Six new projects have been honoured with the Attractive Innovation Project award.
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Eight Uppsala University research projects on IVA 100 List
Marika Edoff, researcher in solar cell technology at Uppsala University, coordinates SOLVE (Solar Research Center Sweden), which is one of the projects selected for IVA's 100 list 2022. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt. The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) has announced its 100 List 2022. The theme for the list is technology in the service of humankind and the chosen projects are all deemed to be ready for utilisation in the immediate future. Eight of the 70 projects on the list are being conducted at Uppsala University.
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Uppsala researcher honoured as innovative entrepreneur
Space technology researcher Anders Ajaxon Persson receives the 2022 ÅForsk Entrepreneurial Grant for the idea of transforming an innovation meant to detect traces of life on Mars into a useful solution for the care of premature babies. Photo: Ingrid Ajaxon. Anders Ajaxon Persson, a researcher in space technology at Uppsala University and co-founder of the company Fourth State Systems, is one of the ten innovative entrepreneurs in Sweden to be awarded the ÅForsk Entrepreneurial Grant for 2022. He is being recognised for his drive to equip the healthcare sector with a new solution for monitoring the health of premature babies.
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Successful matching in UU Innovation’s mentor programme
Daniel Camsund, researcher at the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, has received a major boost in his innovation project thanks to his mentor. The UU Innovation’s mentor programme offers extra support for those looking to develop an idea towards innovation. The application deadline for the autumn semester is 30 April. One of the researchers currently in the programme is Daniel Camsund, who has a technical idea that could speed up the development of biologic drugs.
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Frida Henningson Johnson joins the team at UU Innovation
Frida Henningson Johnson is a new business advisor at UU Innovation. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt. Research, innovation and communication are close to her heart. Frida Henningson Johnson has now switched back to academia after several years in the business world, joining the UU Innovation team as a new business advisor on 1 April 2022.
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Vem formar framtiden? (inspelning)
Nu kan du ta del av inspelningen från UU Innovations seminarium om inkluderande innovation från den 8 mars 2022. Se inspelningen från UU Innovations digitala seminarium 8 mars 2022 om inkluderande innovation, som nu finns tillgänglig med undertexter på både svenska och engelska.
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Mentor as a sounding board for utilisation
Liza Löf is one of the researchers who got a mentor from the business world in the UU Innovation mentor programme. Hello there Liza Löf, researcher at the Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology. You are one of the researchers participating in the UU Innovation mentor programme, which is once again open for applications. What do you consider the best thing about the programme?
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Sight set on new treatment for COVID-19
Commercialising research results is a new experience to Jens Carlsson at the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, but he is already hoping to have the opportunity to be involved in new projects that could lead to drugs. Photo: Niklas Norberg Wirtén. Hello there… Jens Carlsson, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology and one of the researchers behind a promising new molecule for a drug to combat coronavirus.
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Hjärnäpplet - an innovation prize with many dimensions
The Innovation Prize “Hjärnäpplet” has evolved from being a prize for material researchers at the Ångström Laboratory to being an innovation prize for the entire University. The prize sculpture itself has a very special story to tell. At the same time, it is an exciting piece of art in its own right, with depth in several dimensions. The “Hjärnäpplet” Innovation Prize was first developed to reward materials researchers with sustainable business ideas. Now it rewards all kinds of innovation at Uppsala University, and does so with plenty of built-in symbolism. Former researcher Richard Karmhag is responsible for the design.
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UU Innovation Mentor Programme open for application
Develop your idea faster and further by joining UU Innovation's mentor program. Applications for autumn 2022 are open. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt. Applications are now being accepted for the UU Innovation Mentor Programme for doctoral students and researchers interested in getting an extra boost in their utilisation projects. Apply by 30 April for the opportunity to be awarded a place in the programme for the autumn semester 2022.
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Useful knowledge to realise the value of research results
Learning about patent databases and how to search for patent information were some of the things
that doctoral student Arindam De Tarafder really appreciated about UU Innovation's credit-bearing
course on intellectual property in research. Photo: David Naylor.Three questions to Arindam De Tarafder, PhD student in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology who took UU Innovation’s postgraduate course on intellectual property in research in the fall of 2021. A new round of the course is currently ongoing.
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Materials company in Uppsala launches special toothpaste
Håkan Engqvist, Professor of Materials Science, has developed a material that is used in toothpaste to alleviate dentin hypersensitivity. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt. Hello there... Håkan Engqvist, Professor of Materials Science at Uppsala University and co-founder of Psilox, the company bringing new biomaterials to the dental market. Psilox has now launched its first product under the brand name Caposal.
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Cleaner air on the bus could soon be a reality
Marvin Seibert is measuring the airflow on newly installed, ten meters long air extraction ducts on a 70-passenger hybrid-electric city bus. Photo: Mark Harris. During the corona pandemic, most people who had a choice steered away from travelling by bus. We have been urged to avoid and not contribute to congestion on board. New technology for air purification in buses offers hope for safe public transport even in times of pandemic.
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Learn the essentials of intellectual property
Learn how to identify, protect and make use of your intellectual assets. Sign up for the credit-bearing course Intellectual property in research: strategies and practices, which starts on 23 March. Photo: Shutterstock. The course on intellectual property in research is now open for registration. Learn about useful strategies and practices in this course that is aimed for doctoral students and researchers and provided by UU Innovation in collaboration with the Swedish Patent and Registration Office, PRV.
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From medical genetics to Russian studies - 14 researchers join UU Innovation's mentor program
This spring, Beata Filipek-Gorniok from the Department of organismal biology will work together with a mentor to develop DanioReadout, a zebrafish model system-based service platform, for commercial use. Photo: Tiffany Klingström. The UU Innovation mentor program of spring 2022 is now up and running. At the kick off on 24 January, all participating researchers met their mentors on Zoom, marking the beginning of a six-month collaboration.
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Get publicity for your research
Uppsala University researchers Inger Gustavsson and Nazar Akrami made IVA's 100-list 2021. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt/Mark Harris. Increase the publicity around your research, your contacts with the business community and the innovation readiness of your research results. Apply to IVA's 100 list 2022.
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Apply for ÅForsk’s Entrepreneurial Scholarship 2022
Entrepreneurial grants for entrepreneurial academics. ÅForsk's Entrepreneurial Scholarship is awarded in collaboration with Swedish Incubators & Science Parks. Picture: www.sisp.se. ÅForsk’s Entrepreneurial Scholarship is for entrepreneurs who are connected to a university environment, either as a student, a doctoral student, a researcher or as teacher. Sweden's 10 most innovative entrepreneurs will be awarded SEK 200,000 each. The application period is open.
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Learn how to successfully plan for research impact
In January and February UU Innovation will host a workshop about the tool Impact Planning Canvas that can assist researchers in describing the long-term effects of the work they are doing as well as how to accomplish those effects. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt. Impact Planning Canvas is a tool for identifying the possible impact and planning for how you can achieve it in the best way. In January and February, UU Innovation will host a workshop where you will have the opportunity to learn about the tool, and also apply it to your own project.
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New technology detects rare mutations
Lei Chen, researcher at the Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology and co-founder of Rarity Bioscience AB, wants to see his technology benefit patients. Photo: David Naylor. Fast, sensitive, and reliable technology for detecting rare mutations. This is the invention behind Rarity Bioscience, a spin-out company from Uppsala University.
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Patent protection creates opportunities
Ana Belen Iglesias Gonzalez has applied for a patent for an invention that she developed in the lab during her time as a doctoral student. Photo: private. Hello there Ana Belen Iglesias Gonzalez, PhD student at the Department of Neuroscience, who recently filed a patent application for a new type of box for handling test tubes.
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They want to develop healthcare from within
Fredrik Junerfält has trained as a doctor at Uppsala University and is one of the founders of the startup company RoundBit. Photo: Klara Westman. No more piles of papers for rounds and decisions in healthcare. That is the goal of RoundBit, a company founded by two doctors who see the need to develop healthcare from within.
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Innovation prize awarded to Uppsala student
Mamduh Halawa has been awarded the second prize of SEK 75,000 for his Zeeds app by the SKAPA foundation, which annually awards an innovation prize to young innovators. Photo: Johan Wahlgren. Hello there… Mamduh Halawa, a student in the Psychology Programme at Uppsala University, who developed the Zeeds app and is now being honoured with the “SKAPA-talang” innovation award for young innovators in the national finals.
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The UU Innovation team grows stronger with new business advisor
Ingrid Ajaxon joins the UU Innovation team from the Uppsala University spin-off company Disruptive Materials. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt. As of 1 November, Ingrid Ajaxon is the new business advisor at UU Innovation. She joins the team from Uppsala-based Disruptive Materials, which brought the groundbreaking material Upsalite to market.
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More people want to test their ideas
A clearer offer of what UU Innovation can help with along with new initiatives to stimulate interest in utilisation explain the higher and more equal influx of new ideas according to Malin Graffner Nordberg, head of department. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt. This year’s new initiative at UU Innovation has paid off. The number of ideas submitted by researchers and doctoral students this year reached the same level as 2020 as a whole – after just the first nine months. The previous year’s skewed influx of ideas has been straightened out, and a larger number of women are among the idea owners seeking support to test the potential of their ideas.