In the first Director’s Diary blog of 2025, Dr Helen Turner shares her ambitions for the year ahead and highlights some key projects, initiatives and events to look forward to.
As we welcome the new year, I am excited about what lies ahead. 2024 was a year of significant milestones for Midlands Innovation, and I am confident that 2025 will bring even more opportunity and success.
Celebrating our 10 year anniversary
This year is particularly special as we celebrate our 10-year anniversary. Over the past decade, our partnership and our collaboration has gone from strength-to-strength. The relationships between our university members have matured, enabling us to deliver some groundbreaking projects, impactful and long-standing collaborations, and crucial legacy projects that have paved the way forward. Our collective efforts have led us to where we are today – a thriving innovation ecosystem.
In the coming year, we will celebrate our achievements as a partnership and look ahead to the next 10 years, sharing our ambitions and our vision for the future. Key features to look out for include:
10 Years of Impact: This series will showcase the evolution and impact of key projects, networks, and initiatives over the years. It will highlight our efforts in supporting the technical community and fostering a spin-out ecosystem, among other achievements.
Vision 2035: This topical series of events and features will focus on the role our partnership can play in shaping a world-leading and future-ready R&D ecosystem in the Midlands over the next 10 years. Set against the context of Labours economic growth plans, 10 year regional R&D budgets, and the UK Science and Technology Framework, roundtables events and feature articles will review our progress to date, and explore the steps needed to achieve growth ambitions in the region.
The year ahead
In addition to anniversary plans, this year promises to be filled with engaging events, developments and exciting evolutions. It is a year where we will celebrate project legacy, with some of our key initiatives drawing to a close, and with some long-standing projects marking their own important milestones.
The new year signals the birth of exciting new initiatives for Midlands Innovation. Later this month we will be announcing new collaborative research platforms that will take our partnership in new and exciting directions. These platforms will deepen our collaboration and recognise areas of shared strength across the partnership.
Now in its 10th year, the UK Higher Education Technicians Summit (HETS) will return on 9 July 2025, featuring the acclaimed Papin Prizes, which will feature a new Apprentice and Sustainability award.
MI Talent and ITSS continue to champion and support the technical community by delivering bespoke learning and development workshops and programs for technical staff. Throughout January they will again be hosting the popular online learning festival, WinterFest.
The MI Talent program will conclude in February marking the end of five successful years. Over this time, Talent has established a number of legacy projects that will be carried forward by ITSS. One of the most significant, of course, is the Talent Commission report, which has had a huge impact on the sector since its publication in 2022. I am looking forward to seeing the outcomes of the second MI Talent impact survey this year, which will highlight tangible changes and opportunities to scale up and further spread best practices across the sector.
Another MI Talent legacy project, The UK Technology Specialists Network Conference will return for a third year, this time in York. The programme aims to share insights, best practice and support colleagues in similar roles.
HyDEX will also end operations in 2025, and as highlighted at a recent celebration event, the programme leaves behind a strong legacy, having supported over 50 companies, 12 start-ups, and having secured over £100 million in funding.
ERA will host a two-day researchers retreat designed specifically for doctoral and post-doctoral researchers, focused on enhancing understanding of research culture and responsible research practices. ERA will also feature in our Vision 2035 roundtable series exploring how they can support government ambitions to become a green energy superpower over the next ten years.
After launching last year, the Invest in UK University R&D Midlands campaign will continue to showcase regional R&D strengths on the global stage, with outbound visits to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting in Boston, Massachusetts, South by South West in Austin Texas and MIPIM, Cannes up next.
Midlands Mindforge continues to progress with strong momentum and support from partners. I look forward to continuing to work with the Mindforge team to improve commercialisation outcomes for IP developed in our universities
MI Health, will publish its long-awaited Policy Commission examining Midlands Health and Care Inequalities and will also deliver their own Vision 2035 roundtable event exploring how it can support future NHS ambitions.
The Midlands Extracellular Vesicle (EV) Network is offering an exciting programme of training opportunities for Midlands ECR and PhD students, which they will be showcasing at their inaugural industry-sponsored conference in March 2025.
Finally, we will continue to support funders to engage with our partnership and look forward to welcoming the Medical Research Council and DSIT amongst others in 2025.
These are just a handful of the things I am looking forward to, but I’m sure that as the year unfolds, many more opportunities and developments will arise. Stay informed with the latest updates by visiting our website or subscribing to our newsletter.
