Case Study
From research to
real-world impact
What happened when six university researchers got personalised support to navigate the space between academia and the commercial world.
Six researchers from four universities — Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam, Leeds and Huddersfield — took part in the Yorkshire MedTech Academic-to-Commercial Transition Pilot. They came from different fields and wanted different things: some moving toward spin-outs, some toward industry partnerships, some commercialising their research while staying in academia. What they shared was a need the academic world doesn’t train for — deciding under uncertainty, communicating with new audiences, influencing, leading, and holding their nerve under pressure.
“In any job, how rare it is to have that time and guidance — to have that insight about not what you’re doing, but how you’re doing it… That is ultimately what enables people to make these leaps, to convince partners and investors. The investors are investing in you as a person.”
Dr Steph Oliver-Beech — University of Sheffield
Yorkshire MedTech, through PBIAA, commissioned Growing Beyond to run a twelve-week programme to build those capabilities. Over twelve weeks, every measured capability area improved — and the cohort built a network that has continued beyond it.
“An eye-opening experience that has definitely helped me grow my commercial mindset — but also academically and personally. I hope there is more of this to come!”
Ilida Ortega Asencio — public LinkedIn recommendation
What shifted
Decision-making“Moving from understanding concepts intellectually to applying them intentionally in real leadership, mentoring and decision-making situations.”
Resilience“I recover faster than other times now. I have increased my resilience.”
Communicating value“Instead of focusing on technical details… I framed the discussion around the manufacturing challenges it addresses and its potential impact.”
The programme
What we did
Stage 01
Measure & understand
What
Establish each person’s starting point.
What
Build the capabilities the commercial world asks for — communicating value, leading others, deciding under pressure, sustaining performance.
What
Take the tools into real situations, and keep going.
Tools
- North Star Reset
- Lumina Spark + 1:1 debriefs
- 29-item capability self-assessment
Tools
- Commercial identity & M³
- Imposter feelings → growth
- Leader Toolbox: SCARF, psychological safety, Motivation Map, the Cheat Code
- Flipping the Triangle
- The Habit Wheel
- Navigating the commercial frontier
Tools
- Live application between sessions
- A collaboration round
- Group office hours
- A curated reading list
Value created
A shared language for self-awareness, and a clear baseline to measure against.
Value created
Capabilities built and practised — with the cohort as a live, trusted group.
Value created
Tools used on real decisions; six collaborations brokered; the cohort chose to keep meeting.
Stage 01
Measure & understand
What
Establish each person’s starting point.
Tools
- North Star Reset
- Lumina Spark + 1:1 debriefs
- 29-item capability self-assessment
Value created
A shared language for self-awareness, and a clear baseline to measure against.
What
Build the capabilities the commercial world asks for — communicating value, leading others, deciding under pressure, sustaining performance.
Tools
- Commercial identity & M³
- Imposter feelings → growth
- Leader Toolbox: SCARF, psychological safety, Motivation Map, the Cheat Code
- Flipping the Triangle
- The Habit Wheel
- Navigating the commercial frontier
Value created
Capabilities built and practised — with the cohort as a live, trusted group.
What
Take the tools into real situations, and keep going.
Tools
- Live application between sessions
- A collaboration round
- Group office hours
- A curated reading list
Value created
Tools used on real decisions; six collaborations brokered; the cohort chose to keep meeting.
Each stage built on the last — and the same 29 capabilities were re-measured at the end, so movement could be seen directly, person by person.
What participants valued most
Ranked by how many of the cohort named each element in the endpoint survey.
1
Lumina — psychometric work helping the cohort understand how they show up, and how they respond and adapt across different contexts and under pressure.
2
1:1 coaching — personalised support, applied to each person’s live challenges.
3
North Star Reset & Lumina debrief — a deep-dive 1:1 developing clarity on direction, drivers, energy, behavioural patterns and goals — and a shared language for self-awareness and understanding yourself in relation to others.
4
Leader Toolbox — SCARF, psychological safety, the Motivation Map and the Cheat Code — leading others well.
5
Flipping the Triangle — recognising reactive patterns and choosing a constructive response.
Outcomes
Which capabilities improved
Participants rated themselves before and after, against the 29 capabilities the move from academia to the commercial world most demands. Every area improved — overall capability rose 19%, and 28 of the 29 individual measures rose,* with the largest gain by far in cohort community and peer support. Six cross-institutional collaborations were brokered, and the cohort rated the programme 4.3 / 5 to recommend.
How to read these numbers
Everyone rated themselves against the same 29 capabilities, before and after, on a 1–5 scale. Before and After are cohort averages, Change is the difference in points, and % increase sets that change against the starting score — so a gain from a low base reads larger than the same gain from a high one.
The 19% overall is the cohort average across all 29 items moving from 3.32 to 3.94: a gain of +0.63 on a 3.32 base.
*The one measure that held steady — natural working style — was already a strength at the start.
In the cohort’s words
1:1 coaching“Being coached 1:1 by Rebecca has been amazing.”
Reflection & direction“A great opportunity for personal reflection and vision and goal-setting.”
Putting it into practice“I’ve been flipping the triangle in a project where the commercial partner is very demanding — it is helping!”
You’re not alone in it“It was reassuring to find that many of the challenges I’d experienced were not unique to me.”
Belonging“A supportive, accepting environment — seeing positive, kind, generous people who are my peers has been eye-opening.”
Unexpected impact“One of the most valuable and unexpectedly impactful professional development experiences I have undertaken.”
What this means
Why this matters
The pilot set out to support the move from academia to the commercial world. What emerged is that the capabilities that moved most were not commercial techniques — they were transferable leadership capabilities: judgement, communication, decision-making, self-regulation, relationships and identity.
Because those capabilities travel with the person, not the setting, they serve each researcher whether they found a spin-out, partner with industry, or deepen their impact within academia. That is why the model is ready to run again, at greater scale, and to adapt to adjacent PBIAA programmes.
In their own words
Confidence
“It’s difficult to capture in a form how valuable the experience has really been. Certainly on a personal level I am far more equipped to face the challenges of the job.”
Hazel — participant
Leadership & self-awareness
“What initially appeared to be a programme about operating more effectively across academic and commercial environments became something far deeper: an exercise in intentionality, leadership, self-awareness and integration. Rebecca created an environment that was psychologically safe, intellectually stimulating and genuinely empowering. Many of our discussions distilled into a simple way of operating: calm enough to listen, sharp enough to see clearly, decisive enough to move things forward. Most importantly, she helped create something increasingly rare in modern professional life: space to pause, breathe, think and operate intentionally. The impact of this experience will stay with me forever.”
Nik Georgopoulos — public LinkedIn recommendation
Cross-disciplinary perspective
“Being part of the cohort exposed me to diverse perspectives from researchers working in different fields. It encouraged me to think more broadly about leadership, communication and research impact, while providing a supportive environment for reflection and shared learning.”
A Yorkshire MedTech participant — endpoint survey
