New hire joins our team as Principal Enterprise Fellow on our website
The University of Southampton has appointed Rory Miles as Principal Enterprise Fellow, marking a significant step in the growth of its startup accelerator, Future Worlds. This move is expected to empower the team to support more students, researchers, and aspiring founders in launching startups and spinouts.
Rory Miles, with his extensive experience in working with researchers, funding bodies, industry, and innovators across multiple sectors, will play a central role in driving strategic business growth. His mission is to increase the scale, reach, and impact of the startup accelerator, by enhancing support and mentorship, building a collaborative and inclusive innovation ecosystem, creating clear pathways for startup incubation, and expanding industry partnerships.
Ben Clark, the Director of the University of Southampton, is delighted with Rory's appointment. He believes that Rory's wealth of experience will make a quick impact on the accelerator's growth. Rory has been working with the university for a number of years, having previously sat on university innovation panels and boards, and collaborated on national approaches to industrial innovations.
The University of Southampton's startup accelerator, Future Worlds, is committed to nurturing the next generation of founders to "change the world with their ideas." With Rory's leadership, the accelerator aims to align with broader trends in academic entrepreneurial leadership, adopting more fluid, integrated, and collaborative models that combine skills development, enterprise, entrepreneurship, knowledge exchange, and policy-driven research.
The appointment of Rory Miles as Principal Enterprise Fellow is a testament to the university's commitment to strengthening its entrepreneurial leadership and expanding its impact by fostering a thriving startup community within and beyond the university.
Currently, the startups and spinouts supported by the team employ over 380 people and have collectively raised over £78m in investment. Rory is excited to join the dynamic and vibrant team at the University of Southampton and looks forward to driving expansion in the support provided to founders, not just in Southampton, but across the UK and potentially beyond.
In his most recent role, Rory was the Innovation Programme Manager for Southern Water. When not working, he enjoys swimming, crossfit, lino printing, and spending time with his dog, Nigel. The University of Southampton's startup accelerator has a proven track record of generating innovative and ambitious startups, and with Rory at the helm, it is poised to make an even greater impact on the startup ecosystem.
The University of Southampton's startup accelerator is open to partnership opportunities with universities and organizations in the wider startup ecosystem. If you are interested in potential partnership opportunities, Rory's email can be used to set up an initial informal chat.
- Rory Miles, with his experience in funding bodies, industry, and innovators across sectors, aims to drive the growth of the University of Southampton's startup accelerator, Future Worlds.
- As the Principal Enterprise Fellow, Rory will focus on increasing the scale, reach, and impact of the startup accelerator by enhancing support and mentorship, building a collaborative ecosystem, and expanding industry partnerships.
- Rory will play a central role in aligning the accelerator with broader trends in academic entrepreneurial leadership, adopting integrated and collaborative models for skills development, enterprise, entrepreneurship, and policy-driven research.
- The University's commitment to strengthening its entrepreneurial leadership is evident in the appointment of Rory Miles, who will foster a thriving startup community, not just in Southampton but potentially beyond.
- The startups and spinouts supported by the team have already shown significant growth, employing over 380 people and raising over £78m in investment.
- To create more opportunities for founders, Rory looks forward to expanding the support provided to them across the UK and potentially beyond, making an even greater impact on the startup ecosystem.
- The University of Southampton's startup accelerator encourages partnership opportunities with universities and organizations in the wider startup ecosystem, and Rory's email is available for setting up initial informal chats for potential collaborations.
