The agreement provides scientific teams with access to competencies essential for the commercialisation and scaling of deep tech solutions within a startup model, as well as access to an international network of contacts. In practice, this means that selected technologies from the University of Lodz will be able to be prepared for market implementation and scaled in cooperation with business partners.
The agreement between The Heart and the University of Lodz includes, among other things, fast market validation processes (Quick Validation) and the presentation of solutions within the international innovation ecosystem. In the case of projects with confirmed market potential, The Heart will develop them using a venture‑building model. In practice, this involves the development of a business model, a commercialisation strategy, supplementing the founding team with key competencies – including the recruitment of a target CEO and management Staff – the identification and engagement of industry partners and advisors, the preparation and execution of fundraising processes, as well as ongoing operational support for the spin‑off at its initial stage of activity.
– The best deep tech technologies do not need a mentor – they need a partner who will step in as a co‑founder and lead them from the laboratory to the market. The partnership with the University of Lodz and the Technology Transfer Office team allows us to work with technologies at a very early stage and to build companies around them that genuinely operate on the market – says Zbigniew Leś, Director for Scientific Partnerships and Technology Transfer at The Heart.
For several months, The Heart has already been cooperating with the RuFuS project team, operating within the University of Lodz – an innovative sensor being developed at the Faculty of Physics and Applied Informatics of the University of Lodz. The project has completed market validation and is currently at the stage of determining the conditions for further development.
For the University of Lodz, the cooperation means access to a practical business environment supporting the implementation of research results in business. – At the Technology Transfer Office of the University of Lodz, we strive to open up the best possible commercialisation and implementation pathways for the university’s research teams. The partnership with The Heart gives us access to knowledge and networks that would be difficult to acquire independently in a short time. In a world where the pace of innovation development is crucial to success, such cooperation is invaluable and directly supports the mission of the University of Lodz – emphasises Dr Tomasz Ciesielski, Head of the Technology Transfer Office at the University of Lodz.
From The Heart’s perspective, the partnership expands access to technologies developed in the academic environment and strengthens its portfolio with another strong research university. Cooperation with the University of Lodz fits into The Heart’s broader operating model, based on partnerships with universities and research institutions. An increasing number of these institutions are actively seeking partners capable of taking their technologies beyond the academic walls – and this is precisely the gap that The Heart aims to fill.
The venture builder carries out similar initiatives, among other things, with the University of Warsaw and the Jagiellonian University within a tripartite cooperation framework, as well as with the University of Zielona Góra, the University of Białystok and SWPS University. These partnerships have given rise to projects such as VisioSurf – a medical device for premature infants, DualTag – a platform for optimising RNA therapeutics screening, and AE‑001 – an innovative drug molecule in the field of allergies.
Access to early‑stage deep tech projects – identified and pre‑selected by the experienced team of the Technology Transfer Office of the University of Lodz – enables The Heart to build valuable spin‑off companies with well‑established intellectual property before these projects reach other entities within the ecosystem. The growing number of university‑based projects also strengthens The Heart’s offering in discussions with international corporate partners and investors.
The Heart’s portfolio includes projects in biotechnology, medtech, applied physics and photonics, as well as cleantech. The diversity of fields results from a single criterion: the technology must solve an actual problem and have market potential – regardless of the laboratory from which it originates.
Source: Technology Transfer Office of the University of Lodz
Edit: Jolanta Lechowska-Białecka, Centre for External Relations and Social Responsibility of the University, University of Lodz
