By Michele Barbour
Following our Early Career Enterprise Fellowships announcement last month, I have more exciting news to share with you all.
We have confirmed our next cohort of University Enterprise Fellows (UEFs)! This fellowship scheme, launched in 2022, enables academics and researchers at the University of Bristol to explore an opportunity in enterprise, entrepreneurship, and research commercialisation. What we mean by ‘enterprise’ is illustrated in this short video from the Festival of Enterprise 2022, and we’ve been delighted by the response to this scheme since it first launched.

Read on to learn more about this year’s cohort!
Amberly Brigden
Epilepsy, affecting around 630,000 people in the UK, is marked by recurring seizures that pose risks of injury, premature death, and impact on social, work, and mental health. The unpredictability of seizures is a major challenge for those with epilepsy. To address this, our team is developing technology that forecasts seizure likelihood using a smartwatch and smartphone app. This technology collects data on known seizure triggers, such as disturbed sleep, stress, infection, and missed medication, and employs machine learning to analyse this data. The forecasts are presented through the app, along with self-management support. Our research focuses on developing and testing this technology for end-users and optimising the AI algorithm. During the University Enterprise Fellowship, I will explore commercialising this technology through training on spin-outs, licensing, intellectual property, and industry collaborations, as well as conducting market research and seeking partnerships with companies for support.
This seizure forecasting technology could significantly improve the lives of people with epilepsy, and commercialising it is crucial for making it accessible to end-users. I’m excited about the University Enterprise Fellowship’s potential for real-world impact. As commercialisation is new to me, I’m eager to connect with academics interested in this field, learn from those who have successfully commercialised medical devices, and explore the complexities of bringing AI-based medical devices to market.
Richard Cole
I am delighted to have the opportunity, through this Fellowship, to develop the Bristol Digital Game Lab’s pioneering work around games for public service. The Lab, which I co-founded in September 2022 as a University of Bristol, Faculty of Arts Research Group, has since charted new possibilities for collaboration between academia and the gaming industry. This Fellowship is an exciting next step in that journey. It will help me put into action a consultancy model that builds on our work advising academics making research-informed games, our collaborations with the third sector using games to explore complex problems, and the value we bring to games development through player insights. This Fellowship comes at an ideal time as we look to firm up our existing partnerships, as well as forge new ones through pitching at national and international industry conferences. It is deeply rewarding to have the Lab’s work recognized in this way, as well as dedicated time and resources to make the most of the intersections that we have opened up.
Lucy McCarthy
I am delighted to receive this opportunity and support from the university to give me the time needed to work on food system change. It takes time to understand the needs of communities, to build key relationships with those already doing incredible work in food provisioning. This fellowship gives me an opportunity to do my best to co-create change, allowing me to engage meaningfully with farmers who are growing, community and charitable initiatives who are providing access to fresh food, to aim to create a security of demand to build a better, fairer and more environmentally resilient food system.
This fellowship will help support a multi-stakeholder public procurement pilot project aim at creating shorter, more equitable and environmentally resilient supply chains. The aim is to support farmers, retain value from food surplus while reducing food waste and helping local communities and other users to access fresh produce under the umbrella of the Circular Agriculture Hub.
Ash Toye
I’m thrilled to have this University Enterprise Fellowship to explore further how my research can be translated beyond academia. Having some dedicated time to focus on this process is invaluable, allowing me to bridge the gap between research and real-world impact.
Angeliki Papadaki
I’m thrilled to have been awarded a University Enterprise Fellowship to explore the commercialisation potential of Meals on Wheels UK – a state-of-the-art website, featuring a unique database and map of Meals on Wheels services, developed to connect communities with essential Meals on Wheels services across the UK. By engaging with different potential partners, my goal during the fellowship is to explore the market value and commercial potential of this resource, helping to establish Meals on Wheels UK as a sustainable tool that supports communities and improves access to social care services.
Being awarded this fellowship is a significant milestone for me. It’s a stepping stone toward making the vision of accessible and equitable social care a reality. I’m passionate about ensuring that older adults and those with care and support needs have access to the services they need to live independently, and this fellowship offers a unique opportunity to help bring that vision to life.
Levi Wolf
My University Enterprise Fellowship will allow me to start a spin-out company focused on helping people make better geographical planning decisions, like where to locate a new school or how to schedule deliveries along delivery routes. These kinds of optimization problems are solved every day by any firm who schedules shift workers, designs delivery routes, or assigns personnel to tasks. When these problems involve geography, special techniques are needed to make good decisions. I’ll be working directly with existing clients to enhance and complete a new software decision support product, implement new computational techniques to solve geographical planning problems, and develop training courses on how to make better geographical planning decisions.
This fellowship is transformative for me. I have over ten years of experience between three different firms and private consulting in this industry, and after having relocated from the US to the UK, I have been attempting to re-build my business. Without the UEF, I would not have the ability to think strategically and develop a platform for further consulting built on cutting-edge geographical science. This UEF will give me the space, time, and resources to consolidate my successful consulting projects, affecting millions of euros in revenue, and develop a platform to cultivate further success. It will be transformative for my research-driven consulting and the commercialization of my work.
This all sounds fascinating, right? I can’t wait to share more information about this year’s cohort and their journey through the world of enterprise and innovation, but this blog isn’t your only chance to hear from them!
Our annual Festival of Enterprise is on Wednesday 4th June. The Festival is a celebration of both the work our UEF and ECEF schemes enable and an opportunity to learn more about the support available across the University for exploring the commercialisation of research. University of Bristol staff can find out more about the Festival and register to attend via Develop.
I hope to see many of you there!