This year's Demystifying Impact event was a dynamic way for colleagues to share their experiences of entrepreneurship and to learn from each other as well as specialists within King's. There was a palpable energy to the event, and I'm looking forward to seeing the initiatives we showcased developing as well as new projects emerging.
Professor Sally Marlow, Associate Dean for Impact
05 February 2026
Third annual Demystifying Impact event explores entrepreneurial mindset
Staff and students gathered to hear about innovative approaches to ensuring research findings have impact in the real world through creating start up and spin out companies, partnering with others, and licensing the use of findings.
The third annual Demystifying Impact event took place on January 15 2026 at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, with a broad theme of harnessing an ‘entrepreneurial mindset’ to not only maximise the impact of research but also to ensure its sustainability.
Presented by Dr Ndaba Mazibuko and Dr Ahmad Al Khleifat, the event opened with an address by Professor Sir Bashir M. Al-Hashimi (Vice President (Research & Innovation). Following this, Professor Sally Marlow hosted a discussion with Petr Slovak about robotic pet Purrble, a Time magazine invention of the year 2024, which is changing children’s lives.
Attendees heard from researchers, specialists, investors and entrepreneurs working in neuroscience, digital and AI, all of whom have taken innovative and creative ways not only to maximise the impact of research, but also to future proof the impact and make it sustainable. Discussions ranged from experiences of creating start up and spin out companies, what a social venturing approach may look like, how to effectively partner with others including charities and industry, and how licencing the use of findings can support future research.
The event concluded with a fireside chat between Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence, Erika Brodnock and Ben Davey (Chairman of Medi2data, a HealthTech company; a Non-Executive Director of PayPal in the UK; and an advisor to Conception X, the UK’s largest Deep Tech venture programme) who shared insights from his decades of entrepreneurship as an entrepreneur himself as well as a supporter of others.
The event also included several surgeries with King’s colleagues who provided advice and support on creating commercial businesses, licensing deals, taking part in accelerator programmes with their intensive and tailored support, social venture approaches and intellectual property.
Professor Matthew Hotopf, Executive Dean of IoPPN drew the event to a close.
You can see a video of the main talks and discussions below.
In this story
Vice President (Research & Innovation)
Professor of Practice in Public Understanding of Mental Health Research
Executive Dean, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience
Senior Research Fellow
Clinical Research Fellow
Reader
PhD Student
Honorary Research Associate
Professor in Cognitive Clinical Psychology
Professor in Addictions Healthcare Research
Reader in Clinical Psychology
Professor of Medical Bioinformatics
Professor of Neuroscience
Professor of Neuroscience
Head of School (Neuroscience)
Research Fellow