Attending a briefing...

I’m attending a briefing session on how to apply for industry-based research grant. I can see many young faces in the room. The professor speaking is already very established in his own right – no doubt. The money being discussed is provided by the government of the day. The amount is huge, amounting to millions. It has been going-on for the past two years and apparently many have benefited from the grants. I’m sure those early pioneers have gained much from the initial stages. Normally, in the early stages the rules are a bit lax and the chances to get the grants are higher. This is very typical. So, early birds catch the worms – so they say.

Now, I’m still in the room, listening to young researchers asking mundane questions about the amount one can get, the type of equipment one can buy, the amount you can actually get from the funder etc. Yes, they are certainly very excited about the opportunity of getting ‘free’ money. Yes, you can smell and see the adrenalin rush around you.

But wait, why am I here? Well, I was hoping to apply for this grant with the hope that I can work on one or two projects that will actually produce a marketable output. And, in pondering on this matter I’m struggling to find a niche area which I can work in. Yes, differentiate or die. I need to differentiate in the product I intent to develop and later, hopefully, to commercialize them.

Ok. I’ll stop now and focus on the slides...