First Industrial Showcase for Faculty of Science & Technology
Over 100 people attended the first Faculty of Science and Technology Industrial Showcase at Lancaster University this month.
The aim of the event (held on 6th July 2010) was to develop links between academics and commercial partners who had an interest in collaborative innovation and commercialisation.
The one day event showcased research areas with technologies that are near to market from the Faculty's departments of Computing, Communication Systems, Physics, Engineering and the Lancaster Environment Centre.
Specialist staff from the University's Intellectual Property Office, Strategic Partnerships Team and InfoLab21's Knowledge Business Centre were on hand throughout the day to facilitate collaboration between the researchers and event attendees which included specially selected representatives from industry, such as the BBC's Future and Media Technology Group, key Faculty staff and representatives from partner organisations and funding bodies.
Professor Bahram Honary, Faculty of Science and Technology Director for Enterprise and Industry Relations said: "This was the first event of its kind at the University to bring industry and academics from across the whole Faculty together. The feedback was very positive and people would like to see the event regularly in the future."
The event was organised by Professor Honary with support from InfoLab21's Knowledge Business Centre (KBC) as part of a series of Northwest technology events delivered through the InfoLab21 Strategic Technology Exploitation Programme (ISTEP), a Solutions for Business product which provides a range knowledge exchange activities to indentify & support collaboration between Northwest Digital & Creative companies and the 270+ strong research community at InfoLab21.
The Faculty of Science and Technology has a strong tradition of research and teaching and an active collaborative approach to working across disciplines to address important issues. With six departments, two business centres, approximately 2,500 students, 340 PhD students and over 600 staff, the Faculty has a considerable research capacity, generating 69% of the University's research income with 94% of research categorised as international quality in the RAE 2008.