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I am an active researcher in Fuzzy Logic. In particular I work with type-2 fuzzy sets, interval valued fuzzy sets and type-2 adaptive fuzzy systems. I am interested in how Fuzzy Logic can be used to model vagueness, imprecision, concepts and perceptions. I believe that type-2 fuzzy sets offer the ability to model perceptions in a way that type-1 fuzzy sets cannot. I have published extensively in the field. I am Director of the Centre for Computational Intelligence. My research web page is http://www.tech.dmu.ac.uk/~rij

I am an Innovation and Knowledge Transfer Manager for Unviersity of Derby Corporate. I help to create links between external partners and our academic expertise within the University of Derby. By building these relationships we can help organisations achieve their objectives and overcome challenges, whilst giving students relevant, up to date case study material and contact with businesses. This ensures that the teaching and research undertaken at this University is practical and contextualised within today's society, whilst stimulating new research avenues for our academics.

I have held similar positions at the University of Sheffield and University of Birmingham. In addition to this I have worked at a small pharmaceutical company in Nottingham.

I can advise members of staff on working with companies and other organisations; including putting the appropriate formal agreements in place and identifying funding opportunities that can help to fund or co-fund the collaborative relationship.

Academics can also approach me if they have an idea about an aspect of their work that they think could be developed into a product or service. Together we will create a development plan, that will compliment their research and work together to develop the idea.

Chris heads up Leicester’s Intellectual Property and Commercialisation team that works with the University's staff and students to commercialise intellectual property.  Based within the Enterprise and Business Development Office, Chris’s team helps academics to fulfil their contractual obligations to commercialise intellectual property arising for Research Council, Commercial, Charity and other funded research.

Andrew is Director of Enterprise@Lincoln at the University of Lincoln. He initially came to the University to establish the award winning business incubation centre, Sparkhouse, which over the last 6 years has supported the new start of over 80 businesses focused on the development and use of new technologies.

Enterprise@Lincoln is an innovative central department working with students (through an opportunities service, student job shop and Sparkhouse), staff (through enterprising teaching & learning and technology transfer services) and employers (through the employer engagement and knowledge exchange teams). Andrew is also currently a director of UK Business Incubation.

As Head of IP Commercialisation, Joanne's role is to ensure that the University’s knowledge is successfully exploited to the benefit of the University, its staff and the wider community. This involves seeking out and exploiting Intellectual Property (IP), developing the available range of knowledge exploitation routes, and providing Enterprise support to the academic and student community, reflecting the university’s position as an enterprising institution.

Joanne also manages the Intellectual Property team, who identify and work with individual academics on their projects, file for patents and secure funding for commercialising research.  Joanne has a huge amount of experiencing turning ideas into reality, making research matter. She has had experience in academia, the NHS and industry and is keen to help academics here at Loughborough University to evaluate their ideas and support them in turning blue sky research into solutions that impact positively on society.

Professor Bechkoum has over 20 years experience of working in the UK higher education sector and joined the University of Northampton from the University of Derby where he was Head of the School of Computing and Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Business, Computing and Law. Prior to Derby, he was an Associate Dean of the School of Computing at the University of Wolverhampton. His reputation in his field has led him to being an external examiner and advisor to many universities and higher education institutions both in the UK and abroad.

A Fellow of the British Computer Society, a member of the IEEE Computer Society and a Chartered IT Professional, Professor Bechkoum holds a PhD from Cranfield University in Software Techniques for Computer Aided Engineering.