Newsletter October 2023
The UiO Growth House – UiO’s innovation unit for life sciences, health, and technology
Sign up for Innovation Hangout for academia and industry 9 November
Time and place: 5–8 PM, Forum auditorium, Oslo Science Park, Gaustadalleen 21
Inspirational talk: Elen H?eg, Head of Health2B
Role model talk: Gard Fostad Moe, CEO, Aristeia AS
Matchmaking between researchers and students and companies that are members of our co-organisers the open innovation arena Health2B and the health cluster Norway Health Tech among others Aristeia, FornixVR and Norwegian Industrial Property Office.
With this meeting place we want to inspire, give self-confidence and knowledge about innovation processes and facilitate collaboration that puts more research to use for the benefit of patients and society.
See the programme and sign up!
Registration deadline: 6 November
Knowledge in use: NOK 5 million to innovative UiO researchers
A record number of 63 applications were submitted when UiO advertised for innovation funding this year. 23 projects have been granted funding from the rector's office to develop solutions to meet societal needs. The UiO Growth House has been responsible for the call and the evaluation process. We congratulate all the research groups!
The innovation conference Science Impact in pictures
We’ve summarised 12 hours of great talks, pitches and panel debates on life sciences, energy & environment, and planetary health; as well as networking in this < 2 min. video with music.
At the innovation conference Science Impact 2023 – tomorrow's solutions start today in Oslo Science Park 27 September during Oslo Innovation Week we zoomed in on the human brain, heart, body and planetary health; and dived into energy production (wind and solar) and storage (battery and hydrogen) to give the attendees cutting-edge research and development from the University of Oslo, Oslo University Hospital, SINTEF, start-ups from the innovation ecosystem in Oslo and companies.
We addressed challenges and solutions and asked: How do we develop solutions to secure a sustainable health system that will have fewer resources in the future? How can we maintain a healthier population to start with? How do we develop solutions for a sustainable power system? How can technology contribute to new solutions?? How should academia and industry collaborate to increase the impact of science?
A huge thank you to all who contributed on stage and behind the scenes and to all attendees for taking active part in the networking to make this an enjoyable day for all – we hope to see you all again at Science Impact 2024!
Main organiser: UiO Growth House
External partners: Inven2, Oslo Science Park, SINTEF, LMI, Oslo University Hospital (OUS) and The Life Science Cluster
Internal partners at the University of Oslo (UiO): UiO:Energy and Environment, dScience – Centre for Computational and Data Science, Centre for Global Health at SUSTAINIT, the Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, the Department of Biosciences, and the Faculty of Educational Sciences
Student innovation
Student internship 2024: Registration opened for companies
Companies that want to offer summer jobs through the internship programme supported by the UiO Growth House, can now sign up to attend in 2024. We hope to offer as many students as possible a summer job through the programme. Companies of any size are welcome to fund an unlimited number of summer jobs. The Growth House covers 50 per cent of the salary of 20 positions in small and medium-sized companies. You apply for support when you register your company – first come, first served!
The aim of the internship programme is to introduce students to alternative career paths where they can utilise their knowledge and competence. The programme is run by student innovation associations at Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, and students from the two faculties as well as the Faculty of Educational Sciences, can attend the programme. The feedback from both students and companies that have attended the programme so far has been overwhelmingly positive.
Innovation day for pharmacy students
The UiO Growth House was one of the facilitators when the Department of Pharmacy organised an innovation day in Oslo Science Park for its students. The aim was to give the students insight into all aspects of sustainable drug development and a good understanding of the entire process from idea to product. Innovation adviser in the UiO Growth House Nicolay Bérard-Andersen gave an introduction on innovation, while innovation adviser Beate Rygg Johnsen held a workshop on design thinking. The Growth House had also invited the health incubator Aleap to talk about the important role pharmacists have in the process of drug development, both in large pharmaceutical companies and in small start-ups.
Apply for funding of student innovation project from SEFiO
Through the UiO Growth House the University of Oslo is one of the partners in the Students Entrepreneurship Fund in Oslo (SEFiO). Students can apply for up to NOK 25 000 for their innovation projects. The aim is to build a unique innovation environment in Oslo and link academia, business and students closer together. SEFiO is a collaboration between UiO, BI, OsloMet, NMBU and Kristiania. Innovation adviser in the UiO Growth House Nicolay Bérard-Andersen attended the panel debate at the launch of SEFiO during Oslo Innovation Week. The UiO project Awareable won the pitching competition at the event. The project aims to find solutions to prevent accidents at constructions sites through use of image recognition, sensors and computing of data close to the source.
Contact us if you have an early-phase innovation idea!
We offer tailored guidance and support, including seed funding up to NOK 200,000. Contact us if you want to discuss how to proceed with your early-phase innovation idea.