Siemens boss to launch North West Innovation 2018
Juergen Maier, Chief Executive of technology giant Siemens UK, will be the headline speaker at a conference launched by Innovate UK and STFC.
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North West Innovation 2018 will be held at Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Sci-Tech Daresbury on Thursday 8th February 2018. The event aims to encourage businesses to innovate and drive up their productivity. It will also highlight the work that is already underway across the region.
Juergen Maier explained the importance of the event:
“Productivity is a significant challenge for this region; we are proud to have the highest manufacturing output of any UK region, producing 9% of the country’s total exports.  However, we must drive forward significant improvements in productivity if we are to continue to compete effectively on the global stage in the future. Encouraging more businesses to access support to help them to innovate is crucial to that. That is why I am encouraging the North West’s innovators and entrepreneurs to attend this event, to gain a fuller understanding of how government funding and business support can help them to achieve more.”
The event is being convened by Innovate UK and STFC, working with the NWBLT. Innovate UK is the Government’s innovation agency, which supports business-led innovation in order to drive productivity and growth in the UK economy.
“We have provided grant funding to over 1,000 innovative businesses in the region”, says Dr Rick Holland, Innovate UK’s Regional Manager for the North West, “however we want to invest into even more businesses. We want to form new relationships with businesses who want to innovate, grow and become more productive, and we look forward to welcoming many to this event.”
Professor Susan Smith, Head of STFC Daresbury Laboratory said, “The Sci-Tech Daresbury campus can play a crucial role for businesses. We help businesses to innovate by providing access to incredible technologies and genuinely world-class experts. Our future is to use science and technology to help businesses to grow faster and become more productive.”
David Pinder, Chief Executive of BAXI, leads the NWBLT’s Science and Innovation group, and added his support to the conference: “The science and innovation strengths of the North West are clear Рbut we must deliver increased investment in R&D and further encourage a culture of innovation if we are to capitalise upon them. We have outstanding opportunities to unlock the full economic potential of this great region – working together with Innovate UK we hope support our businesses to do just that.”