The Research Commercialisation & Enterprise Accelerator

UK higher education in 2026 is under real pressure. Redundancies, deficit budgets, and a sharp institutional pivot toward teaching-heavy contracts are changing the terms on which research-active academics work — particularly in business schools and the social sciences, and particularly for those from underrepresented backgrounds.

In this climate, the traditional advice to "publish harder" is no longer enough.

The Research Commercialisation & Enterprise Accelerator is a new programme from the Society of Black Academics (SBA), supported by the Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS). It is designed to help a selective cohort of academics translate what they already know into impact, income, and a more resilient career — without compromising their academic identity.

Over five sessions across three months, participants work through the practical mechanics of turning research, teaching, and scholarship into influence: commercialisation routes, industry and policy partnerships, IP and contracts, innovation funding, professional reputation, and enterprising career design.

You leave with a personalised Research Impact & Enterprise Action Plan — a structured, practical roadmap that integrates directly with your institutional role, promotion portfolio, and long-term career goals.

Module 1 — The Academic in a Changing Sector Early July 2026 · In person, Chartered ABS, London · Half-day

• Honest diagnosis of UK higher education in 2026
• Commercialisation and enterprise as a strategic response
• Myths, pathways, and cross-disciplinary case studies
• Introduction to the Research Impact & Enterprise Action Plan

Module 2 — Finding Value in Your Research, Teaching and Scholarship Mid-July 2026 · Online · Half-day

• Auditing your research portfolio for commercial and societal value
• Problem–solution mapping and stakeholder identification
• Matching your work to real pathways: industry, policy, third sector, consultancy, ventures
• Academic–practitioner dialogue on effective partnerships

Module 3 — IP, Contracts, and Funding Early August 2026 · Online · Half-day

• Intellectual property: ownership and practical implications
• Consultancy agreements, revenue sharing, and negotiation
• Innovate UK, KTPs, UKRI, and impact acceleration funding
• Structuring personal income from academic work

Module 4 — Reputation Beyond the Institution Late August 2026 · Online · Half-day

• Building a portable professional reputation
• Writing for policy, media, and practitioner audiences
• Identity and personal branding
• Thought leadership and positioning for non-academic audiences
• Media engagement and owned platforms

Module 5 — Building a Career with an Innovative and Enterprising Mindset Early September 2026 · In person (venue TBC) · Half-day

• Action Plan presentations and cohort feedback
• Integrating enterprise into promotion and leadership narratives
• Diversifying income without compromising academic identity
• Alumni network launch and closing celebration

The programme is designed for a selective cohort of 20 academics, including:

• Mid-career academics seeking to expand their impact beyond publication
• Emerging research leaders preparing for promotion or leadership roles
• Academics interested in knowledge exchange, consultancy, advisory, or venture pathways
• Researchers navigating teaching-pivot contracts who want to protect their research identity
• Academics from underrepresented backgrounds navigating structural barriers to enterprise pathways

You do not need to be in a business school. The programme welcomes research-active academics across business, management, social sciences, and adjacent disciplines. Academics from outside the UK are also welcome to apply.

A cohort, not an audience. Twenty academics, selected through a light-touch application process, working through the same material together. Your peers become part of your network, and the programme continues to pay forward long after it ends.

Practitioner-led sessions. Each module features speakers and guest contributors drawn from industry, funding bodies, IP specialists, policy advisors, and academics who have successfully commercialised their work. You'll get honest perspectives — including the trade-offs and what didn't work.

Structured reflection between sessions. You'll apply what you learn to your own research portfolio between sessions. The programme is sequenced deliberately so learning compounds rather than overwhelms.

A personalised Action Plan. By the final session, you'll have completed a Research Impact & Enterprise Action Plan that integrates with your PDR, promotion narrative, and career trajectory.

Ongoing community. All participants join the SBA–CABS Alumni Network on completion — a peer community of research-impact and enterprise leaders.

• Five half-day sessions across three months, July–September 2026
• Opening session in person at the Chartered ABS Boardroom, 40 Queen Street, London
• Three online sessions via Zoom
• Closing session in person (venue to be confirmed with registered participants)
• All sessions run as structured workshops with active discussion, not lectures

Full session dates and logistics will be shared with registered participants.

The programme runs a light-touch application process to ensure cohort fit. After you register here, you'll receive a short application form — a few questions about your research, your goals for the programme, and why this moment feels right for you. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, and places are offered until the cohort is filled.

Institutional sponsorship is encouraged. Staff development budgets, accessed via line managers, Heads of Department, Research Directors, or Deans, are the most appropriate route. We provide a one-page pitch you can send directly to your line manager — this will be shared after you register.

Self-funded places are also available.

The Society of Black Academics (SBA) is the UK's professional community for Black academics in business, management, and the social sciences. SBA designs and delivers the programme, brings community insight and lived understanding of structural barriers, and convenes a trusted network of mentors and role models.

The Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS) is the representative body for UK business schools. CABS supports the programme by hosting the opening in-person session, promoting visibility across its membership network, and connecting the cohort to sector-wide policy and enterprise networks.

Places are strictly limited. We look forward to your registration/application.

Info: Honest diagnosis of UK higher education in 2026; Commercialisation and enterprise as a strategic response; Myths, pathways, and cross-disciplinary case studies; Introduction to the Research Impact & Enterprise Action Plan

Info: Auditing your research portfolio for commercial and societal value; Problem–solution mapping and stakeholder identification; Matching your work to real pathways: industry, policy, third sector, consultancy, ventures; Academic–practitioner dialogue on effective partnerships

Info: Intellectual property: ownership and practical implications
Consultancy agreements, revenue sharing, and negotiation
Innovate UK, KTPs, UKRI, and impact acceleration funding
Structuring personal income from academic work

Info: Building a portable professional reputation
Writing for policy, media, and practitioner audiences; Identity and personal branding; Thought leadership and positioning for non-academic audiences; Media engagement and owned platforms

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Chartered Association of Business Schools, Board Room, 40 Queen Street, London, United Kingdom

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.

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