Business leaders and academics from across the UK and beyond will gather at a national summit being hosted by the Henry Royce Institute this week (Wednesday, January 10) with the aim of shaping nationally-focused strategies for advanced materials – an area identified by government as vital to boosting the economy.
The full schedule for ‘Shaping the Future of Royce’ conference can be found here: Schedule for Community Programme
The conference will be formally opened by Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of Manchester, and Baroness Brown of Cambridge, Chair of the Royce (pictured below).
As well as developing a strategic focus for applied research in advanced materials, delegates attending ‘Shaping the Future of Royce’ will be advised on how to navigate a funding landscape that features government funding pots worth billions of pounds and earmarked to drive economic growth.
The Royce’s broad portfolio of work, which is made up of nine research themes, is relevant to supporting innovation across a range of business sectors – including manufacture (from automotive to aerospace); biomedical; advanced technology and ICT; energy; transport; infrastructure and construction.
Andrew Hosty, Royce CEO, said: “Our conference will provide the ideal opportunity for partners, stakeholders and supporters to have a Big Conversation where they can share their views about the future direction of Royce and to help identify potential funding opportunities.
“To help inform this conversation, delegates will have the chance to catch up on the project and hear about the exciting facilities now being put in place by Royce.”
“This is the ideal opportunity for partners, stakeholders and supporters to have a Big Conversation where they can share their views about the future direction of Royce and to help identify potential funding opportunities”.
Andrew Hosty, Royce CEO
Expert speakers at the ‘Shaping the Future of Royce’ conference are set to encourage business leaders and academics to jointly seize a raft of ambitious funding opportunities.
Nick Cliffe, Interim Head of Advanced Materials at Innovate UK, will open the conference’s afternoon plenary sessions by exploring these funding opportunities. He will discuss:
- the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund which will support partnership between UK businesses and researchers. The fund is part of the government’s £4.7 billion increase in research and development over four years
- the role of UK Research and Innovation, which launches this spring by bringing together the seven research councils, Innovate UK and other partners with a combined budget of more than £6 billion.
In his leadership role at Innovate UK, Nick focuses on resource efficiency, the circular economy and sustainability – with the aim to embed these themes across Innovate UK’s strategic thinking and competitions.
