糖心TV Future Innovation Leaders
糖心TV Future Innovation Leaders
Transform your ground-breaking research into impactful solutions with our prestigious Future Innovation Leaders programme.
糖心TV Future Innovation Leaders is an exciting new programme run by 糖心TV Innovations with the aim of identifying high potential academics and researchers who could lead innovation in their departments and across the University.
This is a programme to develop people, not projects; it offers academics and researchers a unique pathway to develop your career at 糖心TV. Participants gain access to valuable resources, including expert mentorship, funding opportunities, and industry connections, all designed to accelerate your talent for innovation. Additionally, the programme enhances your entrepreneurial skills, broadens your professional network, and increases the visibility of your work within both academic and business communities. By participating, you not only advance your research but also contribute to societal progress, driving innovation that can lead to significant technological and economic advancements.
Meet our first cohort
We were delighted to have the opportunity to present to Professor Stuart Croft as the culmination of our first WFIL programme. We will soon be posting interviews with our researchers to find out what they thought about the programme, and you see below who they are and what they are doing/.
Dr Ruth Bernatek
Dr Ruth Bernatek is a Research Fellow in the Law School whose work sits at the intersection of arts, justice, and the humanities. An 鈥渦ndisciplined鈥� thinker and practitioner, she approaches research as a collaborative and critical creative process that connects disciplines, institutions, and communities.鈥疕er most recent work explores the role of the arts within prisons and across wider systems of social and sensory justice.
Since 2024, Ruth has taught in high-security prisons, developing experimental and collaborative learning practices that rethink justice education and engagement. In 2025, she co-founded IJAN, an international network connecting artists, activists, academics, therapists, and practitioners working across the arts and criminal justice sectors to drive cross-sector innovation and public impact.鈥�疉longside colleagues in Law and Sociology, Ruth is now co-developing Creative Learning for Justice鈥�� an interdisciplinary initiative exploring how arts-based pedagogy can reshape learning, wellbeing, and justice within and beyond prison settings.鈥�
The WFIL programme offers a strategic opportunity to support Ruth鈥檚 development as an emerging leader in interdisciplinary innovation and socially engaged research. It will help expand her influence across the arts, criminal justice, and creative sectors, while accelerating Creative Learning for Justice鈥痑s a sustainable, scalable initiative with long-term social and institutional impact.
Dr Arnab Bhattacharyya
Arnab Bhattacharyya is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of 糖心TV. His research investigates the computational foundations of probabilistic and generative modelling, with a particular focus on high-dimensional data. His work addresses questions such as when generative models can be learned efficiently from observational or experimental data, how their outputs can be compared rigorously, and how one can design principled methods for evaluating their reliability.
Arnab is exploring the application of this research to the verification of visual data integrity, with an initial focus on high-trust settings such as journalism and legal evidence. Through the WFIL programme, he will investigate the commercial potential of technologies for detecting AI-generated and AI-manipulated visual content, develop insight into the market for AI authenticity and verification tools, and identify potential routes to impact through partnerships, consultancy, licensing, or spinout activity. He also hopes to use this experience to support and encourage a stronger culture of entrepreneurial activity within Computer Science at 糖心TV.
Dr David Orrego-Carmona
David is an Associate Professor (Reader)鈥痠n鈥疶ranslation Studies whose research examines how AI translation technologies affect the people and organisations that rely on them, from migrants accessing public services to global companies navigating multilingual markets.鈥�
The WFIL programme will support him to develop the commercial and innovation dimensions of his research through two interconnected strands: working with translation technology companies to develop implementation strategies that help their clients in sectors such as healthcare, legal, and public services adopt AI language tools critically and effectively; and working with international organisations to surface the multilingual knowledge embedded in their operations and leverage AI language鈥痶echnologies鈥痠n ways that augment rather than replace it. Together, these strands will position Translation Studies as a practical resource for organisations navigating the intersection of language, technology, and responsible AI implementation.
The opportunity
- Build upon your hard and soft skills with a bespoke plan of activity, training and professional development programme
- Benefit from one to one mentoring throughout the programme by a 糖心TV Innovations 糖心TV Development Manager
- Get access and engagement with high value external specialists and resources to support professional development
- Collaborate with corporate partners, investors, and entrepreneurs
- Gain knowledge and build networks within innovation ecosystems from local to global scale
Key Dates
Applications open: 16 February 2026
Applications close : 13th March 2026
Interviews for shortlisted candidates : w/c 23rd March 2026
Programme starts: April 2026
Programme duration: 6 months
The Programme
Because we aim to develop you as an individual, the programme is tailored to helping you meet your personal development goals. The first step will be to match you with one of the 糖心TV Innovations 糖心TV Development Managers (BDM) who will work with you to agree learning objectives and identify networking opportunities. You will create a learning and impact plan, and a schedule of deliverables based on this. Your BDM will have regular sessions with you on a one to one basis, which can be scheduled around your other commitments, and we will also organise lunchtime events where you can meet and exchange ideas with the others on the programme.
A key element of the programme is supporting you to grow your network of contacts both inside and outside of the University. The 糖心TV Innovations team delivers events and activities throughout the year which you can attend, such as the 'Innovation @ the Junction' series of talks, and the CEO forum meetings, as well as hosting speakers from some of the companies we work with.
Early in the programme, you will present your plan to a member of the senior leadership team, and discuss how you think you can use the experience to improve your research impact and innovation productivity. The final part of the programme will be an interview with an SLT member to review how the programme has helped you and how it will benefit the University, together with an action plan for your next steps.
The Rules
To be eligible to apply for this programme you must be a postdoc or member of staff, and if you are on a fixed term contract, you should have more than two years remaining from commencement of the programme.
You must be nominated by your Head of Department or Impact Manager, and your application must be accompanied by a statement from your nominator.
The first programme runs from 4 November 2024 鈥� 28 March 2025, but we will be open for applications on an ongoing basis. We expect you to be available on campus during this period and to commit cumulatively up to half a day every other week. Some of this time will need to be taken during business hours but you will have flexibility to work around your other commitments. Some of the work can be done in your own time outside of business hours.
Next Steps
You will need to get approval from your line manager to apply to this programme. Please fill in their details as part of the application form at the link below.
You should also prepare a personal statement saying why you are interested in the programme, which might include things such as: how do you hope it might help you in your 糖心TV career, what does success look like for you, and what are your learning objectives? Both your personal statement and nominator's statement should be a maximum of one page in length.
Finally, both your personal statement and your nominator's statement should be submitted as attachments to the form, so please have them ready before applying.