ICW was delighted to co-host a roundtable event in partnership with Developing Business-Aware Academics (DBAA) on 9 July at the prestigious Royal Society of Chemistry, Burlington House, Piccadilly. The session brought together business leaders and academics for detailed discussions reveal what can encourage and drive more effective collaboration between Business and Academia.
The interactive peer-to-peer research and learning event enabled leaders, experts, collaborators and academics representing a wide range of sectors, to share their experiences of working across academia and industry. Exchanging insights, perspectives and views on the quality and value of interactions, we welcomed representatives from our ICW Executive Network, SMEs, across a broad cross-section of sectors, creating a diverse forum for knowledge exchange and learning.
The event opened with welcome remarks from Frank Lee, ICW CEO, and Professor Alison Truelove, Project Director of DBAA, who highlighted the importance of developing stronger partnerships that connect academic research with business needs to create lasting value, innovation and societal benefit.
Building on insights from the DBAA 2025 Survey, participants participated in interactive discussions to explore what could enable more successful collaboration between academia and industry, as well as the barriers organisations currently face. The discussions will help to inform future research, shaping how universities can consider where they need to strengthen engagement with businesses.
The roundtable reflected ICW's ongoing commitment to fostering effective collaborative working across sectors. By providing a trusted environment for open dialogue and the sharing of diverse perspectives, the session generated valuable contributions to the work being undertaken by DBAA and we extend our sincere thanks to everyone from our member organisations and partner networks who attended and contributed their valuable insights. Their experience and perspectives played an important role in shaping the discussion and reinforcing the value of collaborative working.
We also extend our special thanks to Professor Alison Truelove, Kirsty Kelley, Kate Ellis and the DBAA team for their collaboration, expertise and commitment in delivering such a successful and engaging session. Along with the role that Dr Paul Connor, Howard Betts and Adrian Miller played in facilitating each of the roundtable groups.
ICW looks forward to continuing its partnership with DBAA and supporting future initiatives that strengthen connections between academia, business and industry, helping organisations collaborate more effectively to drive opportunities to innovate, develop capability and deliver positive impact.
