SPAN Whitepaper: Bridging the Gap Between Industry and Academia

We’re pleased to announce that our SPAN Whitepaper, Bridging the Gap Between Industry and Academia – led by Anushka Sharma and Professor Mark Sims (University of Leicester / SPAN), is now available to read.

The paper sets out practical ways to deepen collaboration across the UK space ecosystem, including:

• Co-design from day zero with early academic and industrial involvement in programmes and missions
• Shared platforms for R&D eg co-funded research challenges)
• Sector mobility with fellowships/secondments across academia, industry, and government
• Aligned incentives and funding that reward long-term, cross-sector impact
• Trust-building and transparency through joint advisory and mixed evaluation mechanisms

We’d welcome your engagement:

• Read & share the paper with colleagues and partners
• Tell us what’s working in your region or organisation, case studies help us build the playbook as this paper will be a living document that we can update and refresh. 
• Flag opportunities for pilots, such as secondments, CoLab activity, or co-funded challenges