- Global cohort of 82 innovators selected for the latest Leaders in Innovation Fellowships programme
- Programme celebrates its 10th anniversary as alumni have created over 6,800 jobs and raised over £182 million in funding for their entrepreneurial ventures.
The Royal Academy of Engineering has selected 82 innovators from 10 different countries who have developed engineering solutions and technological innovations that tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges - from saving the lives of newborn babies to replacing fossil fuels with sustainable biofuels – to participate in its Leaders in Innovation Fellowships (LIF) Global and Advance programmes.
The selected innovators will progress promising innovations that address the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) both locally and globally. Both LIF programmes will help them to develop the entrepreneurial skills needed to commercialise their technologies, through training, tailored mentoring, support from an international community of peers and access to the Academy’s unique network of expert Fellows, entrepreneurs, investors, business leaders, researchers and policymakers. Supported by the UK Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology’s International Science Partnership Fund, and delivered by the Academy, the programmes support sustainable economic and social development through locally engineered solutions that are making a difference to communities across the world.
This year is a significant milestone for LIF, marking its 10th Anniversary. Since the programme opened in 2014, over 1,400 innovators from 19 countries have been supported, 35% of whom identify as female. This has led to the creation of over 220 new companies and 6,800 jobs alongside the registration of over 1,000 patents and intellectual property rights. The innovators have also built over 350 global partnerships with over £182 million secured in follow on funding for their ventures. On graduation this cohort will join the LIF alumni community where they can access further training and peer support from the 1,345 other alumni. The programme is seeking new partners and funders to reach thousands more of the world’s brightest engineering and technology innovators and entrepreneurs.
A total of 20 advanced innovators from Colombia, Egypt, India, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Türkiye, and South Africa have been selected for follow-on funding through the 2024 Advance programme. They have developed engineering solutions specifically focused on health and inclusive economies, with innovations including a portable CPR training device, early diagnostic software for blindness, and a building paint that greatly reduces CO2 emissions.
A further 62 innovators from Colombia, India, Jordan, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Türkiye, and South Africa have been selected for the LIF Global programme to receive free, tailored training and support to scale their early-stage businesses. Their solutions include solar panel cleaning mechanisms, IoT health monitoring devices, energy storage systems, and a land mine deactivating device.
The eight-month programmes, supported by delivery partners Oxentia Ltd (LIF Global) and St John’s Innovation Centre (Advance), will provide the innovators with intensive online and in-person training, mentoring, networking, peer support, and access to the Academy’s expertise and global network to help them turn their purpose-driven innovations into thriving startup and scaleup businesses. The programme will culminate in the UK in the summer 2024 with a demo day.
The Rt Hon Michelle Donelan MP, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, said:
“Leaders in Innovation Fellowships have enabled thousands of pioneers to develop ground-breaking ideas and they continue to back work on some of the biggest social and environmental challenges our planet faces – from saving the lives of newborn babies to protecting our environment with sustainable biofuels.
“The UK Government’s funding for these Fellowships has created thousands of highly skilled jobs and raised millions of pounds and we look forward to a new generation of ambitious ventures which can improve lives across the world and grow our economy.”
Ana Avaliani, Director, Enterprise at the Royal Academy of Engineering, said:
“It has been an incredible 10 years for our LIF programme, which has convened pioneering individuals in engineering from 19 countries to grow an exceptional community of innovators. As we begin 2024, engineering and technological innovation remains as crucial as ever in tackling global challenges. Solutions developed by this year’s cohort have the potential to deliver disruptive change and lasting impact for global health, economic inclusivity, and social mobility, while also addressing some of the most pressing local issues across the world.”
Notes for editors
Leaders in Innovation Fellowships supports talented entrepreneurs from around the globe to turn their engineering innovations into impactful, sustainable businesses.
Our entrepreneurs benefit from the Academy’s unique, prestigious network, which brings together expert Academy Fellows, likeminded entrepreneurs, investors, business leaders, researchers, and policymakers.
We empower a worldwide community of more than 1,400 alumni to support each other, and curate a programme of networking events, pitch opportunities and ongoing entrepreneurship training.
We don’t take equity, fees or IP.
The Royal Academy of Engineering is harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone.
In collaboration with our Fellows and partners, we’re growing talent and developing skills for the future, driving innovation and building global partnerships, and influencing policy and engaging the public.
Together we’re working to tackle the greatest challenges of our age.
Oxentia is an innovation management and technology commercialisation consultancy that started in 2004 as an operating division within Oxford University Innovation Ltd, the world leading technology transfer company of the University of Oxford.
Oxentia’s mission is to provide high quality innovation management consulting services and advice, derived directly from practitioners’ perspectives to organisations around the world, adding value and enabling economic growth at all levels. Since inception, Oxentia has engaged with large corporate businesses and SMEs, university spinouts, accelerators, incubators, research organisations, foundations, and governments as well as academics from research institutions and universities across most continents of the world.
St John’s Innovation Centre (SJIC) has supported engineering and technology start-up entrepreneurship for nearly 40 years, across the globe. Headquartered at the centre of the world-renowned and growing Cambridge innovation ecosystem, SJIC provides dynamic and supportive services to accelerate the growth of ambitious engineering and technology entrepreneurs.