Senior leaders from the Midlands Innovation partnership have welcomed the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Chris Johnson, and Director of Analysis, Alison Kilburn, to Aston University.
The visit was an opportunity to showcase the region’s research expertise which supports the aspirations of the Government’s mission to drive growth and the ambitions of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
As part of the visit to MI partner, Aston University, Chris and Alison were shown examples of how universities in the region are supporting innovation and growth ambitions though their integral role in the development of the region’s Investment Zone and the Innovation Accelerator – a pilot programme being undertaken in the West Midlands. They visited the Birmingham Knowledge Quarter, one of three Investment Zone sites in the West Midlands, that is a partnership involving Aston University to deliver a distinctive city-centre innovation district. The focus is on knowledge-intensive, R&D-driven real estate leveraging engineering, advanced digital technologies, and health and med tech research clustering.
They toured Aston’s Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute (EBRI), which is leading the Biochar Clean Tech Innovation Accelerator pilot programme, developing Biochar products for export from the region’s Industrial cluster. As part of the visit, they also met with colleagues from the Aston Institute for Membrane Excellence and the UK Multidisciplinary Centre for Neuromorphic Computing, highlighting some of the sector-leading science taking place in the region.
Also as part of the visit, Midlands Innovation convened a discussion to explore what has worked and what can be learned in relation to place-based R&D strategies. The roundtable brought together representative from research councils, place based experts and senior leaders from across the MI partnership, along with representatives of Combined Authorities, business parks and organisations and the region’s innovation ecosystem. Together, they explored how they could work together to ensure the Midlands R&D ecosystem can play a leading role in supporting the Government’s growth ambitions through science and innovation.
The roundtable is one of a series MI will be conveying in its 10th anniversary year marking the impact of the partnership in championing research ecosystem and the wider region more generally.
Pictured – Professor Chris Johnson and Alison Kilburn with participants of the place-based R&D strategies roundtable
Professor Johnson and Alison Kilburn were also introduced to Dr Lisa Smith, CEO of Midlands Mindforge, to learn more about the investment vehicle established by MI partners to raise investment in its spinout portfolio and other science and tech businesses in the region.
One of the final sessions of the day involved members of the Midlands Innovation Executive Group, the Pro-Vice-Chancellors of Research from Midlands Innovation partner institutions to discuss how the partnership could support Chris and Alison in their roles and the Department’s aspirations.
Dr Helen Turner, Director of Midlands Innovation, said: “We are grateful to Chris and Alison for visiting our partnership and the region to learn more about the integral role our partners make to advancing the research excellence coming from the Midlands ecosystem, and which can play a greater role in helping to deliver the Government’s growth mission and R&D aspirations.
Chief Scientific Adviser for the UK Government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Professor Chris Johnson said: “From efforts to make AI less energy-intensive, through to cleaning up precious water supplies, the work that’s happening at Aston is important to very many of the Government’s ambitions for the economy and society.
“The Government’s Plan for Change will only succeed if we harness innovations that help us work smarter, waste less, and live more healthily. That’s precisely why we’re backing science and research, in the Midlands and beyond.”
This visit is the most recent to involve DSIT officials and swiftly follows Lord Patrick Vallance, Minister for Science, visiting the Midlands to announce the recipients of the Connecting Capabilities Fund, with a bid led by Loughborough University on behalf of MI and involving 15 Midlands universities being awarded £9.9m. The funding will deliver Forging Ahead – a project to; enhance the commercialisation ecosystem in the Midlands, supercharge entrepreneurial activity, scale innovation and more. Read more about Forging Ahead here
