Conference
Psychology Connected: Academic Entrepreneurship
- Date
- Thursday 30 May 2024
- Time
- Serie
- Psychology Connected
- Address
-
Pieter de la Court
Wassenaarseweg 52
2333 AK Leiden - Room
- Central hall
On Thursday afternoon 30 May, the eighth edition of Psychology Connected will take place. An event to which the entire Psychology Institute is invited to engage in a conversation over drinks about a better university and society. What do those look like and how do we get there?
Academic entrepreneurship
‘For me as an academic researcher, entrepreneurship is one of the most influential routes of societal impact. It allows me to realise how our fundamental discoveries fits into society at large – and how it does no fit,’ says Arko Ghosh, assistant professor at the unit of Cognitive Psychology and the moderator of this Psychology Connected. ‘Entrepreneurship plays a crucial role in our society at large, and innovation is central to the success of new companies. The university as a whole already plays an important role by linking early innovation to market, but the impact has been typically expected of engineering and life sciences. Social and behavioral science could be the next frontier to drive market innovation.’
In this edition, Ghosh will discuss with his colleagues:
- Why academic entrepreneurship is invaluable for making societal impact
- How we can foster an entrepreneurial spirit within Psychology
- Why entrepreneurship blends seamlessly with values as open science, team science and curiosity driven science.
Ineke van der Ham
Ineke van der Ham is a professor of Technological Innovations in Neuropsychology and specialises in spatial cognition in real and immersive environments, combining fundamental neurocognitive and applied clinical research. Although she’s not an entrepreneur herself, she does think researchers should think a little more like entrepreneurs. ‘Many of us do high quality research on potential tools and products that can be used in e.g. healthcare, education and in business. But too often we see that it does not fully reach the intended audience. By interacting with entrepreneurs and investors, we can understand their perspective better and see how they might be able to help us reach the full potential of the tools and products we work on.’
Ruchella Kock
Ruchella Kock is a PhD student, currently working on building a framework for studying the neural processes underlying real-world behavior, using everyday smartphone interactions. She is co-founder and CTO of Axite, a Leiden University spinoff that creates a telemonitoring solution for brain health. ‘Entrepreneurship is another way to share research knowledge with the public. New research can create significant global impact, and academics who best understand these findings are well-placed to apply them. Encouraging discussions about entrepreneurship helps academics identify potential business applications for their research.’