1. Sam Hardy, Business Lead – Energy & Cities
Working together: opportunities for universities a business 31st August 2016
Sam Hardy, Business Lead – Energy & Cities

2. Recent Developments

3. International Institute for Product & Service Innovation (IIPSI)
Opened in 2012, £12.4m ERDF funded
Supported by Coventry & Warwickshire LEP (inc. Governance)
Focussed on Digital, Polymer and Experience Led Innovation with a drive towards a future of digitally connected user rich products
Gave West Midlands SMEs access to world-leading technology
Institute built on WMG's established principle of bridging the gap between universities and business
Left to Right
Simpact (Warwick) LED lighting development – product development
Warwick Music (Coventry) – worlds leading manufacturer of plastic musical instruments – prototyping, testing
Pashley Cycles (Stratford) – product development
Automotive Insulations (Rugby) – Interns from Chemistry and Engineering, materials development

4. Automotive Composites Research Centre
Co-funded by CWLEP Growing Places
Carbon Fibre Reinforced Composites for high volume applications
Substantial weight reduction for components and structures
Projects on new vehicle body architectures with JLR, Fiat, Renault, Volvo, Volkswagen and institutions e.g. RWTH Aachen and Fraunhofer

5. New Developments CWLEP Strategic Economic Plan (2016)
Product Innovation Accelerator (2016)
C&W SME Growth Programme (2016)
Energy Research Accelerator (2016)
National Automotive Innovation Centre (2017)

6. The SEP is the economic development plan for the C&W sub-region
Defines how the C&W economy will be grown over the short, medium and long term (jobs, skills, housing, inward investment etc.)
Support from UoW for the 2016 SEP Refresh

7. Product Innovation Accelerator (2016)
Promoting Research and Innovation, ERDF Priority Axis 1, £2.4m
Due to launch in 2016
Enabling manufacturing SMEs in Coventry & Warwickshire to:
Collaborate to Compete and form complementary partnerships
Develop new research led products and process
Understand customers their better
Move up the value and supply chain
CW LEP Supported in collaboration with Coventry City Council, Coventry University, CW Growth Hub and High Value Manufacturing Catapult

8. C&W SME Growth Programme (2016)
Led by Warwickshire County Council in partnership with UoW Science Park & CWLEP
Provision of tailored growth programme and incubation space for innovative SMEs
Enhancing the competitiveness of SMEs; ERDF Priority Axis 3; c.£3m
Due for launch in 2016

9. National Automotive Innovation Centre (2017)
£150M investment - the biggest private sector investment in any university
A 33,000m2 collaborative research environment
Unique infrastructure and national focus for R&D addressing UK Automotive Council agenda
Creating 1,000 and attracting 3,000 further R&D jobs
Bringing global R&D of major Tier 1 suppliers to co-locate

10. Up to £250M hub to give the UK competitive advantage in energy R&D
Aston – Birmingham – Leicester – Loughborough – Nottingham – Warwick – British Geological Survey
Up to £250M hub to give the UK competitive advantage in energy R&D

11. Regional cluster
“Place can make a difference – the clustering of resources and industries in specific locations can provide a conducive – and in some cases, essential – context for success” Government Science and Innovation Strategy.
Midlands region is home to c.1000 energy related companies and c transport related companies.
ERA universities value to the Midlands - £3bn.
Home to ETI, APC and ES Catapult.
Above average employment in the energy sector.
Manufacturing value to the Midlands - £12bn.
MTC and WMG enable manufacturing solutions and are members of High Value Manufacturing Catapult.
Transport value to the Midlands - >£30bn.
Region’s cities have ambitious energy and climate change targets.

12. Future Opportunities

13. UK City of Culture 2021
“The City of Culture competition gives us the chance to bring together local government, the business community and the Universities to support the people of Coventry in building a more prosperous, vibrant and attractive city in which to live, work and study. This is a great opportunity to build lasting partnerships and to dream big for Coventry’s future.” Professor Jonothan Neelands, WBS - Creative Education & Research Lead for the Coventry City of Culture bid

14. C&W Video Gaming Sector

15. Collaborate to Train (proposed)
Collaboration between the C&W HE and FE providers including UoW, Warwickshire College and Coventry University
Support for local SMEs through student placements and internships
Funding requested through the European Social Fund

16. Degree Apprenticeships
Degree Apprenticeships “combine both higher and vocational education and fully test both the wider occupational competence and academic learning, either using a fully-integrated degree co-designed by employers and HEIs or using a degree plus separate end-test of professional competence”. A core part of a DA is a Bachelor’s (Apprenticeship Level 6) or Master’s (Level 7) degree qualification.
Degree Apprenticeship Briefing, National Centre for Universities & Business