CLUSTER NEWS – October 2024
Big Success…..Our HealthTech Day 2024
As in past years, we hosted a HealthTech Day during Birmingham Tech Week. This year, we held our HealthTech Day – titled The Future Awakes – on the first day of Birmingham Tech Week, Monday 21st October at STEAMhouse, Birmingham.
What a success it was!
We attracted a wonderfully varied and informed audience, we had more exhibitors in this year’s Tech Zone than ever before and feedback on the day about the content’s value and relevance was very positive indeed.
Lots of follow up to do next…
Read out cluster Manager Emma Yeaps extended report here.
CLUSTER’S EVENTS
There was no Topical Tuesday in October (because of HealthTech Day). We resume in November, with a Topical Tuesday presented on the topic of R&D Tax and Funding Opportunities, Tuesday 12th November at 16.15hrs on Zoom. Details coming soon.
I attended the Leadership Breakfast for the launch of Birmingham Tech Week 2024, even submitting a question to the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Rt Hon Peter Kyle MP.
Emma and I both attended the Innovation Accelerator’s Showcase where there was, inevitably, lots of talk about what will happen next year when the original Government funding is due to come to an end. I was impressed with the quality of the 10 pitches presented by Plug and Play.
I attended Mills and Reeve’s Birmingham Tech Week reception in their marvellous new premises in the Paradise development.
And I was there for the Growth Company’s launch of its new “It Starts Here” campaign to attract even more inward investment into our region.
I completed my interviews of stakeholders as part of the development of a single Narrative for HealthTech in the West Midlands. Now I am setting up a Roundtable to discuss the Narrative in detail.
In addition, look out for my invitation shortly to an employers’ skills seminar, where I plan for employers to pick up in one session on all the developments taking place in skills for HealthTech.
Oh, and if you remember that we were nominated this year for an Innovation Award, as a Thought Leader, the Awards will be announced at a dinner to be held on 8th November – keep your fingers crossed for us!
HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES SECTOR NEWS
Rosalind Franklin Laboratory…. Lost!
I helped Arshad Hussain of MIIR Ltd as he battled to save the Rosalind Franklin Laboratory as a key HealthTech asset for our region. Alas, the Landlord would not play ball and it seems that the premises will go back to being warehousing.
Arshad (known to friends as Archie) worked really hard, and with both spirit and ingenuity in attracting interest in businesses and organisations taking space at RFL. He has skills which would benefit our region and I hope to continue working with him to develop other opportunities.
Kick Start for Health Tech
At our Health Tech Day on 21 October, I was pleased to launch the new, free-to-access programme of support for HealthTech entrepreneurs and innovators. This is a collaborative effort between West Midlands Health Technologies Cluster (WMHTC) and Birmingham Enterprise Community (BEC), with support from a wide range of our partners and stakeholders.
This new Kick Start programme aims to support aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators looking to enter the thriving HealthTech sector in our region with FREE work packages.
We are now open for applications from Individuals with innovative ideas in health technology, Businesses looking to pivot into the HealthTech sector and Suppliers seeking to diversify their offerings.
Get involved, fill our form here or contact myself or Emma.
Government’s draft Industrial Strategy
The Government has published a draft of its proposed industrial strategy.
It has been published as a Green Paper, which means that Government is consulting on its ideas before it moves to legislate to introduce the new strategy. You have time to comment back to the Government to influence the final shape of the strategy.
The new industrial strategy – Invest 2035 – is the UK government’s proposed 10-year plan to deliver the certainty and stability businesses need to invest in the high growth sectors that will drive our growth mission. It focuses on tackling barriers to growth in our highest potential growth-driving sectors and places, creating the right conditions for increased investment, high-quality jobs and ensuring tangible impact in communities right across the UK.
The strategy’s goal is to capture a greater share of internationally mobile investment in strategic sectors and spur domestic businesses to boost their investment and scale up their growth – an essential step in achieving sustainable, inclusive and resilient growth.
The Government proposes to focus on the sectors which offer the highest growth opportunity for the economy and business. Eight growth-driving sectors have been identified:
- advanced manufacturingclean energy industries
- creative industries
- defence
- digital and technologies
- financial services
- life sciences
- professional and business services
I presume we will all want to endorse the identification of life sciences as a sector to be supported – so please say so!
The regional growth objectives for the industrial strategy will be to:
- unleash the potential of UK cities and regions, taking into account regional growth when considering growth-driving sectors
- consider where sectors and relevant capabilities are located to identify clusters that can drive growth.
Note that reference to clusters. We have the advantage in the West Midlands to be already working to support clusters – so here is a factor to highlight in your responses.
The Government will be looking to identify sub-sectors to support, and this will link to the plan for Mayors and other locally elected leaders to develop their Growth Strategies consistent with the Industrial Strategy. If you want to suggest sub-sectors in your responses, you might want to consider highlighting devices, diagnostics and digital health, and our very strong cross-sector links with advanced manufacturing, creatives, digital and financial services.
There is a section on people and skills, where you might want to highlight the cluster’s work to date on apprenticeships, including Path 2 Apprenticeships, bootcamps, a new, flexible MedTech Qualification and development of a Skills Framework.
There is a section on innovation, where, in addition to your own story of innovation, you might like to highlight the £33M funding for a West Midlands Innovation Accelerator, which has largely focused on HealthTech in our region.
There is much more in the Green Paper and also a set of questions to help guide your responses. We plan to respond also – both singly and as part of our various networks, including the Cluster Peer Support Group and Midlands Engine.
Please note the closing date for responses of 11:59pm on 24 November 2024
It Starts Here – launch of WM Growth Company’s
new campaign to attract inward investment
I attended the launch of the Growth Company’s new, international promotional campaign. With insights spanning inward investment, regional infrastructure and local skills, the West Midlands Growth Company will be leading a renewed international push, building on the recent very successful years of attracting high levels of Foreign Direct Investment to reflect the West Midlands’ ability to truly compete on the global stage.
WEST MIDLANDS REGION NEWS
Funding opportunities
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) programme grants- open now for submission of outline pans for collaborative, world-class research with 80% cost covered and no closing date set yet.
Mindset extended reality (XR): Digital therapeutics for mental health – UK registered businesses can apply, individually or in a collaboration, for a share of up to £3.7 million for R&D projects that provide digital therapeutics for mental health solutions; closing date 15 January 2025.
West Midlands Business Festival March 2025
In October, Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, announced a major new festival for the business community offering firms the chance to come together and help turbocharge economic growth across the region.
The first West Midlands Business Festival will take place in March next year and bring together small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and the wider business community for a fortnight of inspiration, innovation, learning, showcasing, and networking.
Organised by Business Growth West Midlands (BGWM), the festival will be one of the region’s biggest and most influential annual business-to-business events.
You can register your interest in taking part in the Business Festival here.
UK Trade and Export Finance Forum
Now in its 7th year, the UK Trade and Export Finance Forum brings together finance and business leaders for a full day of networking, panels, case studies, workshops and keynotes, covering the latest developments in export and trade finance. Whether you are a UK supplier looking to increase your overseas trade or an international corporate seeking long-term financing, this forum will provide you with updated insight and new business connections to support you in your export journey.
You can expect:
• The opportunity to meet with senior decision-makers at major global companies to discuss their supply chain needs and procurement processes.
• Insights from leading trade finance experts and policy-makers on market and sector trends.
• Connect with your regional Export Finance Manager and Country Heads to find out how UKEF can support you to accelerate your global export ambitions.
• Extensive networking opportunities and a range of interactive sessions including workshops, one-to-one meetings, panels and case studies.
To register your interest in attending, click here.
Department of Business and Trade learning opportunities
I have had notice of the following opportunities to join the regional DBT team for information and learning sessions as follows:
The Digital Trade Roadshow in Birmingham offers an exclusive opportunity to prepare your business for success in an increasingly connected global economy – Thursday 14 November 2024, 09.30hrs – 16.00hrs at Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Edgbaston B15 3TR
International Trade Week, sponsored by Santander, runs from 11 to 15 November and features 5 action-packed days of free events, workshops and webinars full of exporting advice for all business sizes. Check back regularly as the programme of events is updated daily. Many are short, online sessions and several are at West Midlands locations.
The Midlands Business & Professional Services Global Trade Mixer Event from the Department for Business & Trade (DBT) will help to facilitate networking opportunities and build your knowledge and best practice in selling your services internationally. Thursday 21 November 2024 , 5:30pm – 8:00pm at
1 Mill Street, Leamington Spa; repeated Thursday 30 January 2025, 5:30pm – 8:00pm at No 5 Barristers Chambers, Birmingham.
Financial and related professional services contributed £243.7bn to UK real (inflation-adjusted) gross value added (GVA) in 2023, representing around £12 of every £100 of economic output. Financial and related professional services is among the UK’s largest industries as measured by GVA. Financial services sector productivity is almost 2.5 times as high as whole-economy productivity, ranked second, behind Real Estate (£297); and ahead of Electricity and Gas (£90.1), Water Supply (£74.6), and IT (£51.1).
Mayor’s pledge to create 20,000 placements for young people
West Midlands Mayor, Richard Parker, has pledged to create 20,000 work and training opportunities in the region. At a roundtable with representatives of leading businesses in our region, he stressed the importance of opening their doors to provide meaningful placements and offer the training that prepares young people for the future and engineering qualifications.
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Accelerating Industrial Technology Digital (IDT) Adoption in UK manufacturing
The Loughborough project InterAct 2040 has come up with a very interesting offer. If solutions involving Industrial Digital Technologies (IDTs) that meet the needs of UK manufacturers are readily available, they can be obtained through market-based contracts or licensing agreements. However, some manufacturers may have more complex requirements that necessitate highly customized solutions or even the development of new technologies. In these situations, manufacturers and IDT providers may need to engage in Open Innovation.
Open Innovation (OI) means working with external partners to find solutions to innovation-related problems. It is a distributed innovation process based on purposively managed knowledge flows across organizational boundaries.
InterAct funded researchers offer new Open Innovation insights, allowing manufacturers to use an Open Innovation approach to effectively partner with industrial digital technology experts to future-proof their business.
If this is of interest, take a look at InterAct’s website for more details.
Black History Month October 2024
I take my hat off to Business Growth WM for its great feature on Black Businesses as part of this year’s Black History Month. Take a look at their website for an excellent review of the journey to date here in the West Midlands and the featuring of successful black businesses to date.
Patients to get full access to record on NHS App
Full medical records, tests results and letters from doctors will all be available in the NHS App under plans for a digital revolution in the health service in England.
Ministers hope the changes – part of new 10-year strategy for the NHS in England – will overhaul the way patients interact with the health service in the same way apps have changed the way we bank.
The significance for this in HealthTech is obvious. For one, the Government is clearly signalling its support for more and more technology-enabled healthcare services. And for innovators and developers of digital health solutions, it is clear that services on offer will have to fit with the NHS App.
Spotlight on…
Interactive Software success story
Our member Interactive Software featured significantly in a successful research project led by University of Liverpool, a longitudinal birth cohort study, Children Growing up in Liverpool (C-GULL).
Our member’s software was critical to the success of the project, delivering, through a collaborative approach, a perfect LIMS solution to support the C-GULL study:
“I think the simplest way to explain it is that the project wouldn’t have been paperless without the support of Interactive Software and Achiever LIMS. Given the scale and complexity, it simply wouldn’t have been feasible without their system.” – Nicole Maziere, LIMS Manager at the University of Liverpool.
To read more about this challenging and fascinating project, see the story and case study on Interactive Software’s website.
I hope you enjoy reading my e-bulletin. Feel free to contact me personally with your feedback and suggestions for future activities at david@wmhtc.co.uk
Regards,
Executive Chair.
