Transforming research into action: An AI focused interactive workshop 13 January 2026

This fast-paced, friendly workshop is designed for PhD and early-career researchers who want to develop their confidence and skills to build meaningful relationships with non-academic organisations.  

What:

• Hands-on activities to help you craft clear, compelling messages for non-academic audiences. 
• Hear from industry leaders including a major engineering services company and a local business. 
• Meet academic researchers who will share tips on how they work with businesses.
• Explore practical next steps with advice from impact and innovation stalls. 
• Delicious lunch and cakes from the Exploding Bakery

This in-person interactive workshop prepares you to connect with non-academic organisations and will feature industry representative input from Babcock, space communications consultancy Ibbynet, and business leaders from organisations across the southwest as well as researchers talking about their collaborations with non-academic partners.

Speakers Include: Ian Jones OBE (Ibbynet), Jim Sibson (Babcock), Dr. Fay Manning (University of Exeter)

The workshop is being piloted as part of the Developing Business-Aware Academics research project based at the University of Exeter Business School. We are seeking postgraduate and early-career researchers to take part and provide feedback before and after the workshop to help us refine future sessions and contribute data to the project evidence base.