The Knowledge Transfer Centre (KTC) is pleased to announce that William Kilgallon has been appointed as a Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence (EiR) to the University of Reading, based within the School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy. The scheme provides opportunities for enthusiastic, highly experienced industrial scientists to work on a bespoke project that helps both academic and professional service staff realise the potential of their research to industry.
We caught up with William to find out how he got involved and what he hopes to achieve in his time with us:
“One day I was sitting at my desk and literally had a light bulb moment that just down the road was a great University. Coincidentally, I had seen a post from the KTC on LinkedIn. So, I got in touch and a Business Relationship Manager (BRM) from the KTC arranged for me to visit the University and connect with Al Edwards, Jurek Sikorski and others across the University. Following this meeting, the BRM proposed the EiR scheme as a vehicle to realise our ambition to work together. Over the next few months, I worked closely with the professional staff in the KTC and the lead academic, Al Edwards, to develop a proposal, which I’m happy to say was successful.”
“As with everyone COVID-19 has had a big impact on our plans. I find one of the biggest challenges is not being able to meet with people face to face. That said it does save on travel time so I have met more people than would have been possible, especially senior members of the University. When we’re deeper into the process it will be clearer who the scheme can benefit most, for the moment I am trying to talk as broadly as is practically possible.”
“The KTC has been instrumental in being able to interact with the University more widely and I appreciate being invited in this way. I’ve been very impressed with everyone I’ve met at the University, their skill and passion for their work. I hope I can use my skills and experience to allow researchers to develop their entrepreneurial skills in a creative way. And I’m very excited about doing this.”
William has spent a lot of time working in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry with pharmaceuticals and medical technology. For the last ten years he has been running Cybex Ventures, a consultancy that has helped companies both big and small in the UK and around the world. Additionally, he holds a professorship from the Danube University Krems where he teaches on the MBA course on transformation management and its application.
This article forms part of a series that highlighting the work of the KTC, in particular the Entrepreneur in Residence scheme which will run over the following year. If you’d like to find out more about the scheme or research commercialisation generally, please contact the KTC.