November 2019
Price: £95 PLUS VAT
Format: DOWNLOADABLE PDF
This conference will examine the future for university-led regional innovation across the UK.
Delegates will assess latest developments and the opportunities they present for HEIs, businesses and local authorities as the Government aims to develop universities as regional hubs of innovation utilising their research and knowledge capabilities.
Those attending will also discuss next steps for UKRI’s Strength in Places Fund and rollout of University Enterprise Zones (UEZs).
The agenda in summary
- Implementing the Strength in Places Fund - with Dame Kate Barker, Chair, Strength in Places Fund and Chair, Industrial Strategy Commission;
- Regional innovation in the UK and the role of HEIs - with Dean Cook, Head of Regional Engagement, Innovate UK;
- Implementing the industrial strategy: the role of universities in their places - with Alice Frost, Director, Knowledge Exchange, Research England; and
- Universities within local communities and their key responsibilities - with Professor John Goddard, Vice-Chair, Civic University Commission.
Further sessions focus on
- Implementing University Enterprise Zones and the role of universities in supporting local growth - local innovation, creating effective partnerships and building on current best practice; and
- Developing universities as regional growth hubs.
Case studies and insights from experience included in the agenda
- City deal - Kellie Beirne, Director, Cardiff Capital Region City Deal, on work with Cardiff University to promote regional innovation through the city deal, around ‘CS Connected’;
- Campus-led innovation and using the Strength in Places Fund - Professor Dame Anna Dominiczak, Regius Professor of Medicine; Vice Principal and Head of College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, on the progress of The Clyde Waterfront Innovation Campus, and the opportunities for using the Strength in Places Fund;
- University Enterprise Zones - Dr Samar Betmouni, Deputy Director, Digital Health Enterprise Zone, University of Bradford, on the success of their pilot scheme in Bradford, and lessons that can be learnt from the original scheme to help develop the newly formed Enterprise Zones;
- Marine innovation - Professor Mark Gillan, Head of Innovation and Project Lead, Autonomous Sailing Vessel, Artemis Technologies, on the work at Belfast Harbour to support the creation of an environmentally-friendly new class of vessel and associated sub-systems;
- Clean energy - Dr Maggie McGowan, Director of Research and Innovation, University of Hull, on the creation of the Energy Estuary 2.0, with its aim of taking advantage of clean energy investments to build sustainable growth in the Humber region; and
- The Oxford-Cambridge Arc - Richard Harrington, Chief Executive Officer, Buckinghamshire Thames Valley Local Enterprise Partnership and Alistair Lomax, Director of Development, University of Buckingham on collaborating with the Buckinghamshire Thames Valley Local Enterprise Partnership to help deliver the economic vision for the Oxford-Cambridge Arc.
Engagement with policy officials at this conference
This Westminster Higher Education Forum conference has attracted strong interest from policymakers. It will be an opportunity for stakeholders to engage with officials who have reserved places representing: BEIS; Cabinet Office; DCMS; Department for Education; Defra; MHCLG; DHSC; HMRC; HM Treasury; IPO; MHCLG and the Welsh Government.
