BBSRC’s Sparking Innovation conference brings together the UK bioscience innovation community and facilitates knowledge exchange and collaboration to turn research into real-world impact.
It aims to support:
- collaboration: connecting academia, industry and investors to accelerate routes to impact
- skills development: supporting entrepreneurial and commercialisation capabilities
- career opportunities: showcasing diverse roles across the bioscience innovation landscape
- knowledge exchange: sharing insights, case studies and success stories
- commercialisation connections: as part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), we can help connect you with a host of live commercialisation opportunities
Sparking Innovation 2026
In April 2026, Sparking Innovation will return for the fourth year in a row. The event will be held in Leicester, with registration opening in January.
The conference will include dedicated panel sessions discussing a range of topics:
- commercialisation: from lab to the market
- building sustainable models for translation
- What is needed to build an innovation ecosystem?
Alongside this you will:
- hear from a keynote speaker discussing the importance of bioscience innovation
- see the bio-innovation showcase and poster session (featuring innovation projects from our community)
- watch the famous ‘Demo Day’ where companies can pitch to a panel of investors
What to expect
You can expect:
- inspiring talks and innovation success stories
- opportunities to learn more about bioscience innovation, why it’s important, and how to get involved
- networking with researchers, industry professionals, and investors in a relaxed and informal environment
- to hear more about bioscience innovation opportunities within BBSRC and UKRI
To be the first to hear when registration opens, make sure to subscribe to the BBSRC Innovation Bulletin.
Contact us at: sparkinginnovation@bbsrc.ukri.org
Who we are
We are BBSRC’s Knowledge Exchange and Commercialisation Unit and our job is to help unlock bioscience breakthroughs that deliver economic and societal benefit by driving translation, commercialisation and innovation.
Our focus areas are:
- knowledge exchange: realising research impact through strategic partnerships
- innovation capability: supporting and growing regional bioscience clusters
- strategy and policy: creating the right environment for commercialisation success.
- translation: funding to test and develop technologies for market opportunities
- enterprise and venture: entrepreneurial development programmes and support for high-potential early-stage companies to de-risk their business and attract further investment
We achieve this through programmes and partnerships such as:
- BBSRC strategically supported research institutes
- BBSRC research and innovation Campuses and Campus Innovation Awards
- BioFutures
- BBSRC and Science and Technology Facilities Council Biotechnology Business Incubation Centre
- BBSRC ICURe
- UKRI Impact Accelerator Accounts
- UKI2S
- BBSRC and Economic and Social Research Council Multidisciplinary Food Systems Commercialisation Catalyst in partnership with Zinc