Innovate UK and BT to give businesses a view of the future
Multi-million pound innovation funding calls, new Innovation Loans and tailored businesses support on offer at event at BT’s R&D headquarters.
Innovate UK, the government’s innovation agency is holding an event at BT’s Adastral Park to connect with innovators and entrepreneurs, to help them start and scale up businesses. The event, on Tuesday 27 February, will focus on four key sectors important to this region: health and life sciences, manufacturing and materials, agri-tech and digital.
“A digital, connected future presents challenges and opportunities for all businesses”, says Howard Partridge, Innovate UK’s regional manager for the East. “Innovation is contact sport. The ‘lightbulb-moment’ happens when people get together. This event will bring experts, innovators and entrepreneurs together to spark new ideas and show how we can help them to capture the value of innovation by turning ideas into commercially successful businesses. We’re going to demystify funding and give some expert advice on how to write a really convincing application.”
The event is being hosted by BT and Innovation Martlesham, at their global innovation campus. BT’s investment in R&D ranks third in the UK for R&D spend, behind pharmaceutical companies GSK and AstraZeneca, who are also based in the East of England.
Professor Tim Whitley, BT’s Managing Director, Research and Innovation, will introduce the event. He will talk about the ways in which research and innovation at Adastral Park has transformed our lives and how BT, and almost a hundred other technology businesses at Innovation Martlesham, are working to deliver a more digital, connected future.
At the event, Innovate UK will present new multi-million pound calls for innovation funding, introduce its new Innovation Loans, and make clear the range of support available to help businesses to collaborate and commercialise products and services at home and overseas.
Innovate UK are responsible for stimulating business-led innovation in order to drive productivity and growth in the UK economy. In the last five years, they have granted £185m to over 1,500 businesses in the East of England and helped 200 more to access £88 million of funding through other programmes.
Howard added: “I am particularly interested to see ambitious entrepreneurs who may not know about all the ways that Innovate UK can help them to overcome innovation challenges. This is a really good opportunity for the new generation of innovators to step up and seize the opportunities in front of them.”
“We are working with the four Growth Hubs and Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) across the Eastern counties to make this a must-attend event for anyone that aims to grow their business through innovation.”