The BioDurban SPARK program is a unique partnership between the university, industry and municipality. The purpose of SPARK is to provide the education and mentorship necessary to advance research discoveries from the bench to the market and create start-ups companies.
SPARK provides access to specialized knowledge and technical expertise to support translational research, as well as sources of funding.
Deadline: 31 July 2022, 18:00
Funding:
An award amount per project and depends on the individual proposal.
Eligibility:
- University Faculty, Instructors, Clinical Instructors. Graduate students and postdoctoral scholars are eligible to apply but they are required to include a faculty member of an Academic institution as co-PI on the application.
- SPARK Project to be developed in Durban, South Africa (*Please note* that all of the projects need to be developed and/or incubated in the boundaries of the eThekwini Municipality, KZN, South Africa).
Fields of interest:
Science, engineering, technology and IKS.
Topic areas:
- translational research
- help advance research discoveries to the market or to the community and foster commercialization.
- promote efficient, cost-effective and innovative approaches to technology transfer and development.
Project selection:
Proposals will be reviewed by a selection committee composed of KRISP/UKZN faculty and commercial and industry experts. Based on the compiled rankings, finalists will be invited to present an oral pitch to the review panel. Proposals will be evaluated based on following three criteria:
- scope of unmet/new market need
- novelty of approach
- feasibility of the path to market
Program Mission:
The SPARK South Africa Program is a partnership between university government and industry advisors to educate and support faculty and postgraduate students on the translational research process.