The new fund will support research that the university says drives solutions to complex societal and economic challenges.
UK university King’s College London has formed a fund to support researchers from the so-called SHAPE disciplines of social sciences, arts and humanities, and business and law.
The SPARK innovation fund will provide seed funding as well as mentoring and opportunities to researchers seeking to enter partnerships with business and the creative sectors.
The funding boost comes as UK universities face budget cuts for arts, humanities and social sciences amid broader financial challenges facing the sector from the decline in fee income from international students.
“By investing in this area, King’s is reaffirming its commitment to a broad, inclusive vision of research excellence, one that recognises that innovation is not only about technology, but also about people, values and understanding the world in new ways,” said Mike Lyne, director of translation at King’s Innovation Catalyst, the university’s commercialisation arm, in a release.
King’s College London is not the only UK university supporting funding for arts research. The Royal College of Arts recently set up a £2m ($2.7m) seed fund to invest in design-led companies spun out of the postgraduate art and design college.
The first round of funding opened to researchers at the start of December.
