Market Opportunities in Defence and Security - South Coast
Opening up the Defence & Security marketplace to academics, innovators, Research Technology Organisations (RTOs) and SMEs.
Overview
The Government has committed to increase spending on Defence & Security to 2.5% of GDP with a drive to attract new capabilities to this marketplace, push the horizons of innovation and enrich the supply chains of the UK’s primary contractors. Looking at two specific sub-markets, Integrated air and missile defence and Counter multi-domain unmanned vehicles and vessels, this event series explores this multi-billion-pound global marketplace and how SMEs and university research programmes can access market penetration support.
About the event
The event will include a briefing from the Regional Defence and Security Cluster network outlining their support offer, alongside an overview of key Innovate UK Business Connect programmes relevant to the defence and security sector. It will highlight best practices for engaging with the Innovate UK Innovation Exchange platform (where current market opportunities are hosted, including BAE System’s initiative to support new innovators through access to SDKs, technical expertise, and market intelligence). The session will also explain how Innovate UK delivers regional business growth support and how this can be accessed.
Programme
09:15-09:30: Registration
09:30-09:40: Welcome from the Chair and Event Objectives
Ed Gould, Creative Director, Carswell Gould & Venturefest South
09:40-10:00: University of Southampton Defence & Aerospace programmes and Knowledge Transfer Partnerships update
Andrew Burton, Corporate Partnerships Manager, University of Southampton
10:00 – 10:20: Solent Central Regional Defence & Security Cluster Support Introduction
Speaker invited, SC RDSC
10:20-10:40: DSTL in the Regions – the market opportunities for innovators in the South
Mark Ward, Strategic Partnerships & Engagement Lead, DSTL
10:40-11:00: Introduction to the Defence and Security Accelerator in the South
Dr Mark Helliker, Innovation Partner – South East England, DASA
11:00-11:30: Refreshments
11:30-11:50: Defence and Security Opportunities with the Innovate UK Business Connect Programme
Hazel Biggs, Defence & Security Lead, Innovate UK Business Connect
11:50-12:00: A perspective from an Innovate UK iX Challenge Champion
Nick Allot, Founder, Nquiring Minds
12:00-12:20: Innovate UK Business Growth Regional Small Business support overview
Graeme Beever, Business Growth Specialist, Innovate UK Business Growth
12:20-12:30: Round up and close
Ed Gould, Creative Director, Carswell Gould & Venturefest South
Who should attend?
SMEs, university research programmes and research technology organisations (RTOs) that are actively looking to engage (or strengthen engagement) with the Defence and Security marketplace. Specific technology capabilities would include (but not exhaustive)
- Digital & creative sector agnostic solution developers.
- AR/VR/XR/MR application developers
- visualisation and gamification of complex systems
- data manipulation platform developers
- data analytical platforms/optimisation platforms/sensor analytic platform developers.
- Coding and software houses with base coding for solution application – sector agnostic.
- Practitioners with platforms supporting AI algorithms – sector agnostic
- Control systems and robotic applications (harsh environments)
- space observation data practitioners
- integrated system design
- Cyber Security innovation systems
Why you should attend
Innovation and new lines of thinking often manifest when people that wouldn’t normally meet are given the chance to connect. Many of these market opportunities are open to those collaborating and sharing co-created approaches. This event will give you that opportunities to be briefed on what’s being looked for as well as those that could be the partners you need for a robust response.
The event will also give you access to Innovate UK staff that are there to support your innovation journey and navigate the Innovate UK business growth ecosystem.
Further upcoming events in this series
This event is part of a series being deployed in various locations with our Regional Defence and Security Cluster partners. Further events will be added when they become available.
(Previous events took place in Sheffield, Harwell, Cardiff, Bristol, Lincoln and Glasgow)
Yeovilton, SW England
Wednesday 14 May, 10:00-14:00. Register interest (email southwest.rdsc@outlook.com)
Lancashire, NW England
Friday 16 May, 09:15-12:00. Register interest
Middlesborough, NW England
Wednesday 21 May 2025, 09:15-12:00 Register interest (email bruce.mclelland@iukbc.org.uk)
Related Opportunities
Innovation Exchange challenge: Counter Multi-Domain Unmanned Vehicles & Vessels
Opens: 17/03/2025 Closes: 30/05/2025
BAE Systems invites innovative solutions that can support the timely and successful conduct of Counter Multi-Domain Unmanned Vehicles and Vessels (C-UxV) in response to increasingly complex and diverse threats.
More Information
Innovation Exchange challenge: Integrated Air and Missile Defence
Opens: 17/03/2025 Closes: 30/05/2025
BAE Systems invites innovative solutions that can support the timely and successful conduct of Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) in response to increasingly complex and diverse threats.
More Information
Innovation Exchange - Simulation of critical national infrastructure penetration
Opens: 18/02/2025 Closes: 19/05/2025
The UK is becoming increasingly reliant on complex interconnected infrastructure systems; this also leads to the vulnerability of attack especially from cyber connections. To address gaps in understanding cybersecurity threats and developing defences for Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) system