Presenters:

Dr Sonja Vujovic

Sonja joined the University of Liverpool in 2014 to set up and lead a dedicated support function for consultancy. Since the consultancy policy and internal system (CONSULT) were implemented, consultancy has quickly become an established activity across all areas of the organisation. The small and experienced Consultancy Team effectively manage over 250 projects per year and recently received national recognition at the PraxisAuril Knowledge Exchange (KE) awards winning KE Team of the Year for providing exemplary practice in the sector.

In 2017, Sonja’s remit was extended to include working to develop the University’s ambitions in line with the Government’s Industrial Strategy, heading a small team which provides strategic bid support and project co-ordination in this area.

Sonja has a background in genetics, and completed a PhD in stem cell biology at University College London (UCL) following which she worked as research programme co-ordinator before moving into commercialisation and KE at Heriot-Watt University. Before joining the University of Liverpool Sonja spent 6 years at the Roslin Institute at University of Edinburgh where she headed up commercialisation and industrial collaboration activities .

Dr Susan Kenny

Email: susan.kenny@liverpool.ac.uk

Susan has a strong life sciences background with a degree in biochemistry, is a Master of Research and completed a PhD in the field of oncology after which she spent several years as a post-doctoral researcher working on projects funded by the pharmaceutical and bio-tech industry.

She has a vast amount of experience in working on the academia-industry interface to facilitate the development and delivery of collaborative and commercial opportunities stemming from a world-class research base, cutting-edge facilities and high-level academic expertise. Susan previously worked as a Business Manager across Health and Life Sciences with responsibility for developing partnerships with external organisations, securing external research funding and advising on methods of intellectual property protection and exploitation.

Susan is a Senior Consultancy Business Manager and has been part of the consultancy team since its establishment working to promote the tangible benefits of engaging in consultancy and providing dedicated support to academic colleagues to enable them to share specialist knowledge with a wide range of organisations to facilitate the impact of their research, help find innovative solutions to problems, address societal challenges and influence policy.

She manages an extensive portfolio of projects spanning a broad range of sectors giving professional support ranging from advising on market rates to the negotiation and execution of the contractual and legal aspects of consultancy agreements. She works closely with colleagues to understand their drivers to ensure academic interests are protected and with external organisations to identify their needs to make sure the desired project outputs are achieved.

Away from work Susan enjoys running, being near to the sea and travelling to new places in search of wildlife and sunshine.

Samantha Croker

Email:s.croker@liverpool.ac.uk

As a trained and experienced solicitor, Samantha brings a wealth of legal expertise and outstanding project management skills to the consultancy team which she utilises to provide highly professional, dedicated support to academic colleagues across all three faculties.

Samantha has worked with a wide-range of external organisations including high-profile public and commercial stakeholders and has a proven track record of developing and facilitating successful collaborative projects. With well-developed people and negotiation skills, Samantha works to successfully implement and execute consultancy agreements, protecting and mitigating any risk to the University whilst ensuring colleagues easily understand the key legal terminology.

Prior to taking on her role in the Consultancy Team, Samantha spent six years in private practice at a national law firm specialising predominantly in Civil Litigation and Healthcare Law, managing complex multi-track and litigated cases. Before this she undertook a rigorous training programme including completing a law degree at the University of Liverpool, the Legal Practice Course at the College of Law and a two year training contract at a national law firm to qualify as solicitor in 2013.

As a keen sportswoman who once played football for a premier league team Samantha enjoys keeping fit, socialising and spending time with family.

Consultancy: How to use your expertise to generate impact