Businesses in the West Midlands wanting to boost profits and
expand into the global market by working together are being given a
helping hand by Coventry University Enterprises (CUE Ltd), as it
hosts an Open Innovation Masterclass on Tuesday 7 February 2012
from 9.00am to 1.30pm.
The masterclass is part of the i-UEN (Innovation - University
Enterprise Network) project, which aims to support growth
businesses in the West Midlands region in creating, developing and
implementing new business opportunities through open innovation.
The project is supported by almost £1 million from the ERDF
(European Regional Development Fund) and matched by Coventry
University and private sector businesses.
The i-UEN project is designed so that large enterprises and SMEs
can accelerate and increase the effectiveness of their innovation
process, along with supporting large enterprises to drive up demand
for their services and products through targeted
collaborations.
Recently awarded the Entrepreneurial University of the Year at
the 2011 Times Higher Education Awards, Coventry University has an
impressive track record in business partnership working. The open
innovation masterclass includes guest speakers from:
· O2 - Dr Mike Short, Vice President, Telefonica
Europe
· Jaguar Land Rover - speaker to be confirmed
· Logica - Danny Wootton, Innovation Director
· National Physical Laboratory - Peter Benson, Knowledge
Services
· Coventry University - Dr Brian More, Director of IP
Services
· PERA - Eleanor Brown, Innovation Bid Writer
· Federation of Small Businesses - Dr Sami Ahmed,
Regional Secretary for Warwickshire and Coventry
The masterclass is open to SME's across the West Midlands region
and will debate how to achieve more through open innovation, look
at the drivers for collaboration, and aim to support participants
looking to develop collaborative relationships to get their ideas
or technology to market.
Dr Gideon Maas, Director at Coventry University's Institute of
Applied Entrepreneurship, said:
"Statistics show that regionally only 55 per cent of West
Midlands firms are considered 'innovation active', and with
investment in research and development in the West Midlands also
falling behind the UK average, it's time to make some significant
changes.
"The Network provides an easy and open route for businesses to
work together, and we are particularly focused on facilitating new
relationships and opportunities between large corporate
organisations who would like to collaborate with SME partners. This
masterclass is one of many opportunities for SMEs to gain valuable
information and to network with local stakeholders."
The masterclass will take place at Coventry University
Technology Park at the ACT-UK Simulation Centre, Cheetah Road,
Coventry, CV1 2TL.
For more information on the event or to book a place, please
contact Louise Marjoram on 07974 984 283 or email:
lmarjoram@cad.coventry.ac.uk
For more information about Coventry University, please visit
their website here: www.coventry.ac.uk