Translating PhD Innovation into a career as an entrepreneur

During my PhD at the University of Birmingham, I conducted research in additive manufacturing, materials and hybrid manufacturing processes. My doctoral work involved close collaboration with industry partners across biomedical engineering and aerospace applications, including high-performance engine components requiring exceptional precision, reliability, and systems-level design thinking.

While my early view of the PhD followed a relatively linear trajectory, i.e. develop technical expertise, contribute to knowledge, and progress within academia or industry, the methodologies, computational modelling approaches, and hybrid manufacturing techniques I was developing proved highly transferable beyond their original aerospace context.

Alongside complex aerospace challenges, I increasingly applied engineering principles to biomedical problems. This marked a pivotal shift. My doctorate had not simply equipped me with specialist knowledge in advanced manufacturing; it had trained me to design robust, custom-engineered solutions for high-performance biological systems.

This realisation ultimately led to the foundation of Pawionic in August 2023.

Pawionic is a UK-based veterinary engineering venture specialising in custom animal prosthetics, canine orthotics, patient-specific implants, and veterinary surgical guides. Drawing directly on doctoral expertise in advanced manufacturing and materials science, Pawionic designs and fabricates the most advanced custom dog braces, orthotic mobility devices, prosthetic limbs, and bespoke surgical planning solutions for complex veterinary cases.

These include cruciate ligament injury, carpal hyperextension, limb instability, post-operative rehabilitation support, and cases requiring patient-specific implants or custom surgical guides to improve procedural accuracy. By integrating digital design, advanced materials engineering, and precision manufacturing, Pawionic aims to provide clinically relevant solutions that enhance surgical outcomes, restore mobility, and improve long-term quality of life for animals.

The transition from academic research to enterprise was supported by B-Enterprising at the University of Birmingham. The programme provided a structured and evidence-driven framework for commercialisation, encouraging experimentation, validation, and strategic development principles closely aligned with doctoral research methodology. Rather than departing from academia, enterprise became a way of extending the real-world impact of PhD training into veterinary biomedical engineering.

Importantly, Pawionic was not a direct continuation of my doctoral research. It was a new application of the mindset developed during it: systems thinking, advanced materials,  design, and precision-driven manufacturing now translated into veterinary orthotics, prosthetics, surgical guides, and implants.

For current postgraduate researchers, the key message is this: a PhD is not defined solely by a thesis topic or sector. The critical thinking, resilience, and advanced problem-solving capabilities developed during doctoral study can enable innovation across unexpected domains. From aerospace manufacturing to veterinary implant design. Sometimes, those paths align not only with professional opportunity, but with our personal purpose.

Holly Prescott, our PGR Careers Advisor in Careers Network, adds:

As Aldi explains, your innovative mindset as a researcher can be applied in many settings. You may not think of yourself as an entrepreneur, but in many ways your research is a ‘venture’ that you must build and promote, just like an entrepreneur does with their business. That’s why we give PGRs an exclusive opportunity to develop your entrepreneurial skills through our Emerging Researcher Innovation Challenge (ERIC): a great chance to build your confidence and hone skills like strategic thinking and persuasive communication that are highly valued across many sectors.