Bridging Academia and Industry: translating sol-gel research to the real world

Date: August 31, 2026 | Duration: 9h00 - 17h00 | Registration fee: 90 euros/participant
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Have you ever had a great idea or research outcome and wondered if it might lead to commercial opportunities, such as forming the basis of a startup company or collaborations with industry?

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This workshop is aimed at colleagues who are interested in developing their academic research into real-world applications. It will explore some of the challenges you might face when translating your research from the lab into commercial outcomes. Experienced colleagues from different research environments will share their research translation journeys, highlighting opportunities, revealing common pitfalls and demonstrating mitigation strategies to create real-world impact.

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These will include:
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• Dr Monique Deon (Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, Brazil), who co-founded the start-up company Formula-3D in 2020 in Brazil.
  From Basic Science to 3D Printed Medicines: Fostering Real-World Health Solutions
  How can a researcher rooted in basic science foster real-world health solutions? From materials chemistry to pharmaceutical sciences, I will present a journey across this interface. The focus is on how academic mentorship and student-driven entrepreneurship helped transform university research into the foundation of a startup for 3D printing of medicines in Brazil.
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• Professor Stephane Parola (École normale supérieure de Lyon, France), a cofounder of the startup Mathym.
  Turning academic research into innovation in material science: cross-disciplinary perspectives between researchers, industry manager and startup investor.
  While academic research is primarily aimed at advancing knowledge and publishing new findings, some discoveries also hold significant commercial potential. This panel (Prof. S. Parola, Dr. B. Cormary, J. Alberici) will discuss the opportunities, challenges, and key steps involved in transforming research outcomes into market-ready innovations, with insights from academia, industry, and entrepreneurship.
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• Professor Aleksandra Lobnik (University of Maribor and Institute of Environmental Protection and Sensors (IOS), Slovenia), who launched IOS as a startup company in 2006.
  Innovation, Persistence, and Growth: The IOS Journey
  Starting with university-based research in 2006, IOS developed into a thriving R&D company working in environmental technologies, sensors, and nanomaterials. This interactive session explores how scientific research can be transformed into real-world impact through entrepreneurship and innovation. Using the IOS story as a case study, the presentation will cover startup beginnings, European projects, technology development, team growth, funding strategies, and the challenges of balancing science with business. Participants will gain practical insights relevant for researchers considering commercialization, startups, or applied R&D careers.
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• Dr Daniel Mann (TNO, The Netherlands and Hasselt University, Belgium), a researcher at TNO (an independent research and technology organisation) and guest professor at Hasselt University, involved in translating university research into commercial applications.
  Thermochromic Smart Windows – A Case Study on Challenges during Transfer of Lab Scale Developments towards a Commercial Product
  TNO has developed a thermochromic smart window coating from lab to industrial scale. As a case study for common scale up challenges, we present our mitigation strategies to come up with solutions for: i) differences between lab and outdoor performance/requirements; ii) compliance with industrial production infrastructure; iii) integration of novel materials into functional systems; and iv) balancing material and production costs with end user benefits.
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• Professor Kazuki Nakanishi (Kyoto University, Japan), whose academic work on developing techniques controlling the pore structure of silica has been commercialised by Merck KGaA.
  From Sol-Gel Silica Piece to Monolithic HPLC Column
  Utilizing a sol-gel process accompanied by phase separation, the method of precisely controlling the pore structure of bulk silica has been developed. Independently controllable macro- and mesopores served as an efficient alternative for particle-packed HPLC columns with improved performance. The story of filing patents, running a startup company, and collaboration with Merck KGaA for product launch will be introduced.
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• Dr Sophie Senani – de Monredon (Safran), a senior group expert in coatings and nanomaterials in Safran company.
  From fundamental research to real industrial application: Keypoints of successful academic and industrial partnership to accelerate innovation and reach real world. Aeronautics examples
  The presentation will explore how robust collaboration between academia and industry can successfully transform low-TRL fundamental research into tangible industrial applications. Focusing on the aeronautics examples, key steps of the journey and key factors that drive such partnerships will be highlighted and illustrated by sol-gel based coatings developments. Way to foster the acceleration of innovation cycles and facilitate the transition from lab breakthroughs into competitive market-ready solutions will be discussed.

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The workshop will conclude with a dynamic panel discussion, in which the presenters will address questions posed by participants on topics such as obtaining seed funding; intellectual property; addressing challenges in scale-up and real-world applications of new technologies; involving PhD students in industrial R&D; career opportunities in industry; etc.

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Workshop Program