Innovate Manchester has announced the launch of its news series of innovation workshops in Greater Manchester for 2022/2023; calling on Greater Manchester based businesses to come forward with challenges that require support from local SMEs and academia.
Launched in June 2020, Innovate Manchester works to bring together organisations from all sectors, backgrounds and sizes to develop fresh ideas and tangible solutions to key challenges faced by society today.
Topics are unrestricted and can range from research and development of renewable energy sources and industry 4.0 to cyber security and job creation, yet its core objective is to inspire cross-sector collaborations between corporates, SMEs and academia for bigger and better results.
Funded through the European Regional Development Fund and with the dedicated and ongoing support of MIDAS and the Business Growth Hub Innovation team, the series of four workshops will run from September 2022 to January 2023.
Each event will involve one large organisation and 10 SMEs, who will work with the region’s universities to discuss innovative solutions for a variety of challenges that will tackle topics such as decarbonisation, supply chain and digital transformation and supply chain improvement.
The programme contributes to the city-region’s overall innovation strategy: Innovation Greater Manchester, which aims to deliver an ecosystem that will help level up our communities, generate the solutions we need to achieve net zero, and create the conditions for more businesses in more places to benefit from global exporting and inward investment.
Tim News, CEO of MIDAS, Manchester’s Inward Investment Agency said:
“ One of Greater Manchester’s key strengths is its passion for innovation and collaboration and the strong infrastructure to support it. Although we already have a thriving business community it can only get stronger with increased innovation activity and a strengthened innovation network, facilitated through the Innovate Manchester programme, will ultimately create new IP with a direct commercial application and potential.”
Yvonne Grady, Head of Innovation at GC Business Growth Hub said:
“ The Innovate Manchester workshops will be instrumental in transforming concepts and ideas into real change and commercial opportunities. We are proud to have the ability to connect and mobilise SMEs, driving innovation to the next level. We look forward to hearing big, exciting and sustainable solutions from ambitious experts in Greater Manchester. ”
