From Impact to Exploitation
Capacity building for your research and career
Impact defines the destination
Exploitation pathways guide researchers towards that destination
Impact is described in proposals and projects, but may lack details and be relatively generic. The From Impact to Exploitation course starts from the envisioned impact and focuses on how to realise it through realistic and credible exploitation pathways.
Participants are introduced to different exploitation perspectives through lectures, discussion, shared practices and experiences from our own exploitation activities, as well as learnings from entrepreneurial researchers in our network.
The training complements impact thinking with strategic reflection on exploitation and future valorisation opportunities arising from research and innovation.
In Summer 2026, two options are available for researchers who want to develop their exploitation pathways. Participants who wish to continue can join the advanced autumn programme, where exploitation perspectives are developed into an individual research and career plan.
The course introduces a conceptual positioning of exploitation within the research-to-impact process.
Target audience: Researchers, doctoral candidates, postdoctoral researchers and applicants to European research funding programmes.
Format: online via Zoom.
To register: download form and send filled in form to the email in the form.
Short course
From impact to Exploitation: Basics and Perspectives for Exploitation Pathways
Half-day format, 2.5 hours
A short course with lecture and Q&A. The course introduces participants to exploitation pathways, provides perspectives on value creation from research and innovation towards exploitation, and gives insight into the role of exploitation in practical research-to-business activities.
The course includes practical perspectives on developing exploitation pathways for an exploitation plan and how these can be implemented in ongoing projects.
The course is suitable for MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship applicants, other researchers preparing proposals, and researchers in ongoing projects who want to better understand exploitation and valorisation perspectives that complement the impact section.
Fee: 120€
Summer course
From impact to Exploitation: Exploitation Pathways and Research Case Development
3 weeks
A three-week course consisting of two lectures, 2.5 hours each, and an assignment. Lecture 1 is the short course, providing basics and perspectives for exploitation pathways. Lecture 2 explores how exploitation perspectives can be applied in practice to a research case. The described and potential impacts of the research are evaluated from practical perspectives. These perspectives are then used to consider how research results, knowledge, methods, data and other outputs may be further developed, adopted or applied through exploitation activities that contribute towards intended outcomes and impact.
Participants complete the course with a short assignment that is started in week one and finalise it by week three, applying insights from the lectures to describe their own research activity, impact context and initial exploitation perspectives. The assignment develops throughout the course, from initial impact framing in week one to a more developed exploitation perspective by week three. Each participant receives feedback on the impact and exploitation content of their assignment.
Participants receive a certificate of completion stating the successful completion of the course and assignment.
Fee: 280€
Start: 21 July 2026, 10:00 CEST
Lecture 1 (Short course): 21 July 2026
Lecture 2: 28 July 2026
Assignment: Submitted during the third week
Places are limited to facilitate Q&A, discussion and interaction. Additional course dates will be announced based on demand, including scheduling options to better accommodate participants outside Europe.
By working from their own research case, participants will after completing the Summer course be able to:
- explain how outputs, outcomes, impact, exploitation and knowledge valorisation are relevant in their research
- identify initial exploitation perspectives
- understand practical ways to facilitate exploitation and identify relevant stakeholders
- relate impact to realistic exploitation path so that impact becomes more convincing
Organized by ICM Research Institute, Alminica AB that hosts the MSCA Sweden platform.
Trainer background
Dr. Syväjärvi has more than 20 years of experience from international technology transfer, start-up creation and research-to-business activities. This experience forms the basis for his SME, Alminica AB, which contributes to European research projects with transfer of knowledge for impact and exploitation from research and innovation towards business and sustainability. Recent examples include the EU FET Open project SiComb (2020–2024) and the EIC Pathfinder project rePowerSiC (2024–2028).
He has also worked with positioning research and innovation in European and regional development contexts. Between 2014 and 2018, he served on the board of a Swedish national innovation programme and as a regional expert in advanced materials within smart specialisation strategy (S3), which connects regional economic development with place-based innovation and the entrepreneurial discovery process.
He has recently been accepted as a mentor in European Innovation Council (EIC) 2026 initiatives, including the EIC Tech to Market Programme and the EIC Women Leadership Programme. These activities involve supporting researchers and innovators in areas such as value proposition development, early-stage commercial thinking, leadership development, and strategic reflection on future opportunities arising from research and innovation.
The training combines practical experience from research, entrepreneurship, European innovation ecosystems and data-driven value creation perspectives.