By Michele Barbour
Today, I had the pleasure of catching up with Manda Baynes, Innovation Officer at the University of Bristol. She shared insights into her role and the various activities she engages in to foster innovation and enterprise across the university.
A Day in the Life of an Innovation Officer
As an Innovation Officer, Manda works on a wide range of enterprise and innovation initiatives. One of her biggest commitments is end-to-end support of the University Enterprise Fellowship and Early Career Enterprise Fellowship schemes, ensuring that prospective and active fellows have access to clear guidance and advice. She is also involved in organising and coordinating activities such as Enterprise Sessions and Masterclasses. Her role has a quantitative, reporting dimension, assisting with the drafting of annual monitoring statements for Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF), and a communications and culture dimension, engaging in internal projects such as the recent “telling stories within DREI”, an initiative to help colleagues better understand the different roles, teams and priorities across a large division. In addition, Manda also currently leads on a UEIC <University Enterprise and Innovation Committee> project exploring and mapping enterprise and innovation training opportunities available for UoB researchers, with the aim to ensure they have the resources and training they need to realise their ambitions.
“No day is like another, which is what I love,” she says, highlighting the variety and excitement in her job.
The Joy of Working with People
One of Manda’s favourite aspects of the role is working with people. She enjoys collaborating with researchers across different faculties and helping them navigate the complexities of University processes. Her previous experience in the School of Chemistry gave her a particularly subject-focussed perspective, and in this role she has enjoyed getting to grips with a much wider range of disciplinary specific needs, allowing her to broaden her perspective and the impact of her work.
“I am a real people person,” she explains. “Working with the fellowships and seeing the impact we have not just locally but on a larger scale is incredible.”
Manda particularly helps researchers and Enterprise Fellows understand and navigate University processes, provides a friendly face and a listening ear, and connecting them with the right resources and people. Whether it’s answering logistical questions or linking prospective fellows with current ones, she is there to facilitate and support.
“I help facilitate processes and provide support,” she says. “Sometimes, I’m just a friendly ear for them to check in with and make sure they know how the various systems and processes work”
Building a Community
Manda also emphasises the importance of building a community among the Enterprise Fellows. She encourages current and previous fellows to support one another and those interested in applying for fellowships in the future. Additionally, she organises yearly gatherings where all the fellows can meet, share their work, and discuss challenges and building strong sense of mutual support and enthusiasm.
“It’s like a mini enterprise community,” she notes. “It’s fabulous to be part of and to encourage.”
Defining Success
For Manda, success is seeing the researchers and fellows she supports flourish. Watching their ideas develop into actions and outcomes is really satisfying.
“Seeing the tangible impact we’re having is really fulfilling,” she says. “It’s exciting to see acorns grow into small saplings – and perhaps, in time, into mighty oaks!”
What’s next on the Enterprise and Innovation Blog?
Manda and I (plus the rest of our wonderful team) are hard at work gearing up for the Festival of Enterprise later this year, with our Enterprise Roadshows and Masterclasses in full swing across University campus too.
Our University Enterprise Fellows and Early Career Enterprise Fellows are busy too! You’ll be able to hear from them at this year’s Festival of Enterprise, but keep an eye on this blog over the next couple of months as I sit down with them and find out more about what they’re up to and how our schemes are supporting their activities.
Until then!