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Dr Ania Jolly appointed Head of Research and Business Engagement

The Henry Royce Institute (Royce), the UK’s national institute for advanced materials research and innovation, has appointed Dr Ania Jolly to the role of Head of Research and Business Engagement.

Ania will be responsible for developing and delivering Royce’s strategy for network coordination, research coordination, stakeholder management and business engagement activities in order to maximise the exploitation and impact of advanced materials science at Royce and across the UK.

Commenting on her appointment, Ania said:

“I’m delighted to join Royce at this time in its evolution as the UK’s national institute for advanced materials.  Advanced materials and applications development are going to be essential to deliver solutions to key challenges we face – from the targets associated with a new, clean-energy future through to improving healthcare outcomes of people all over the world.

“I am looking forward to supporting Royce in executing its strategic delivery, building on existing industry corporate partnerships and developing new ones, accelerating technologies and new products to market.

“The Research and Business Engagement team is an enabler of Royce’s Research Areas in producing roadmaps which support Royce to engage with researchers in both academia and industry and to help drive a national approach to the development of an advanced materials research programme.”

Ania has over 15 years’ experience in research development, strategic research management, business development, and innovation. She has successfully developed and managed large research programmes and portfolios at national and international levels across a range of sectors including manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, chemistry and engineering in academic, commercial and clinical working environments.

Since 2016, Ania has been acting Operations Manager for the Christabel Pankhurst Institute for Health Technology Research and Innovation, a £25m partnership between the University of Manchester, NHS, business and local government to promote and translate world-leading research in digital health technologies and advanced materials into new products and services. Previously, Ania worked in Knowledge Exchange at the National Graphene Institute where she supported academics to commercialise their research by securing industry investment for projects ranging from small proof of concept studies to larger strategic collaborations with PLCs and multinationals.

With a background in chemical engineering and materials science, Ania is a recognised expert in Health Technology Research and Innovation and frequently peer-reviews proposals for a variety of funding organisations including UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the EU Commission.

Royce works with a growing pool of businesses across the materials landscape and is constantly searching for new collaboration opportunities. The Royce Research and Business Engagement Team operates across the nine Royce partners working to build collaborations with industrial partners from start-ups and SMEs, to large multinational corporations. Companies are supported through their research and innovation journey from initial scoping of requirements and structuring project to delivery and completion.