King's College London

The Synergies for Open Planetary Health Innovation Action (SOPHIA) brings together 18 partners from nine European countries to develop and test a new approach to university innovation. Rather than viewing universities primarily as producers of research, the project aims to strengthen their role as active partners in shaping, validating and de-risking promising innovations before they reach critical decisions around intellectual property, investment, commercialisation or implementation.

The project is being led by Université Paris Cité and funded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) Higher Education Initiative. King’s is participating through its membership of the Circle U. European University Alliance, which brings together nine partner universities to support collaboration and knowledge exchange. Circle U. helped secure the funding, which was awarded in recognition of the unique role alliances can play in building stronger innovation ecosystems by bringing together complementary expertise, shared infrastructure and international networks.

SOPHIA focuses on planetary health—the interconnected challenges of human health, environmental sustainability, digital transformation, food systems and societal wellbeing. It will bring together expertise from across research, healthcare, industry, regulation, public policy and entrepreneurship to help identify innovations with the greatest potential for real-world impact and provide researchers with the support needed to strengthen them at an early stage.

At the heart of the project is a new Innovation Mission Officer model. These specialist innovation professionals will work alongside technology transfer and knowledge exchange teams to support researchers as they develop emerging ideas. By convening multidisciplinary expert panels, Innovation Mission Officers will help assess projects from technical, clinical, regulatory, commercial and societal perspectives, enabling researchers to identify potential barriers, strengthen evidence for adoption and make better-informed decisions before significant investment or commercialisation pathways are established.

SOPHIA will also explore cultural and participatory approaches to ensure that new technologies and solutions are designed with users, communities and society in mind, increasing their likelihood of adoption and long-term impact. Education and training programmes in innovation and entrepreneurship will also be developed to support students, researchers and professional services colleagues.

King’s contribution to SOPHIA is led by King’s Innovation Catalyst and the London Institute for Healthcare Engineering (LIHE). Dr Nicolas Huber, COO of LIHE, said:

“SOPHIA is an exciting opportunity to work with leading European partners to develop new approaches to research translation and innovation. By bringing together expertise from across the Circle U. alliance, industry and the public sector, the project will help researchers strengthen promising ideas at an earlier stage and increase their potential to deliver meaningful benefits for society.”

The first phase of the project will run from September 2026 to August 2028.

Find out more about the SOPHIA project on EIT Higher Education Initiative's website, or contact Circle U. at circle-u@kcl.ac.uk