The last twelve months have seen COVID-19 impact in ways we could never have imagined. No one can fail to be shocked by the stories of how the virus has devastated lives, communities, businesses and places, but perhaps at the same time we are also inspired and thankful for the efforts of those on the front-line who have kept essential services functioning.
In July 2020, Yorkshire Universities, the Yorkshire & Humber Academic Health Science Network and the NHS Confederation published Levelling Up Yorkshire and Humber: health as the new wealth post-COVID. The report set out the bold actions that are needed by local and national leadership to embed a renewed focus on health, tackle long-standing regional inequalities, and boost future investment in Yorkshire’s health and life sciences assets as we begin living with and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
Learn more about how working with universities can benefit your business. The opening plenary explores business resilience and opportunities in the face of the pandemic, presenting a range of insights and an overview of available business support initiatives and programmes. Explore opportunities for collaboration with universities on initiatives across healthcare, inclusive creative industries, textiles and low carbon heating and cooling in the breakout sessions.
14:00 – Welcome and introduction to the plenary
Professor Shirley Congdon, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bradford and Chair of Yorkshire Universities
14:15 – Panel presentations
Where business is now: perspectives from Yorkshire’s universities
Collaborative regional initiatives in support of pandemic recovery – including the Place Based Economic Recovery (PERN) and the West Yorkshire Economic Recovery Framework
Professor Andy Brown, Divisional Director of Research
(Leeds University Business School)
Recovery toolkit and analysis of survival strategies for businesses across the region
David Spicer, Director of Business and Community Engagement
(School of Management, University of Bradford) Presentation
Opportunities for university based business support in higher education “cold-spots”
Natalie Allen, Business Development Manager
(Calderdale University Business Centre, Leeds Beckett University) Presentation
Support for skills and investment opportunities for business start- ups during pandemic
Claire Newhouse, Director of Centre for Apprenticeships, Work-based Learning & Skills
(AD:Venture, Leeds Trinity University) Presentation
What are the current conditions for entrepreneurial innovation?
Harrison Evans, Collaboration Manager
(Nexus, University of Leeds) Presentation
14:50 – Interactive Q&A
15:10 – Collaborate to Innovate Breakout Sessions
COLLABORATE TO INNOVATE – Healthcare
Hosted by Leeds Beckett University
Join us to explore the challenges and opportunities for innovation in Health. This session will give an insight into the innovative research and development in the region, showcasing the latest in health research, medical technology development and collaborative opportunities. We will hear from a number of speakers from across the region discussing key topics relating to innovations in response to Covid, white-box machine learning in healthcare, and opportunities for digital innovation surrounding the safety of medicines and the supply chain.
Session chair:
Dr Duncan Sharp
Dean of the School of Clinical and Applied Sciences, Leeds Beckett University
Speakers:
Resources:
COLLABORATE TO INNOVATE – Inclusive Creative Industries
Hosted by the University of York
The University of York is leading on enabling and supporting collaborative R&D for the creative sector across the region including immersive and interactive storytelling and the UK gaming sector. Come and find out more about our work through our interactive and visual case studies. Meet the people leading the research and businesses we have worked with and find out more about the different funding and engagement opportunities available to your business.
Session chair:
Professor Damian Murphy
Director of XR Stories, University of York
Speakers:
Resources:
COLLABORATE TO INNOVATE – Textiles
Hosted by the University of Huddersfield
Interactive session exploring challenges and opportunities for collaboration relating to innovation in the textiles sector. The audience will learn more about current initiatives in technical textiles and the Future Fashion Factory Programme. The participants will also have an opportunity to inform a new study which is seeking to map the innovation landscape for textiles in the region; and identify key priorities for future industrial collaboration.
Session chair:
James Devitt
Industrial Collaboration Manager, University of Huddersfield
Speakers:
COLLABORATE TO INNOVATE – Low carbon heating and cooling
Hosted by the University of Leeds
Interactive session exploring opportunities for collaboration and the co-development of strategies for sustainable low carbon heating and cooling. Perfect for businesses involved in the heating and cooling of their buildings or the supply chain side of electricity and heat generation.
Session Chair:
Sandra Piazolo
Professor in Structural Geology and Tectonics, University of Leeds
Speakers:
Resources:
16:15 – Closing remarks, signposting and next steps
Dr Peter O’Brien
Executive Director of Yorkshire Universities
Sue Cooke
CEO of 3M BIC Innovation Centre, University of Huddersfield
16:30 – Finish
Talent
Research
Specialist Expertise
Business Support Eco-System
GET IN TOUCH
Leeds Beckett University: GrowMedTech@leedsbeckett.ac.uk enterprisesupport@leedsbeckett.ac.uk
Leeds Trinity University: business@leedstrinity.ac.uk
University of Bradford: business@bradford.ac.uk
University of Huddersfield: business@hud.ac.uk
University of Leeds: hello@nexusleeds.co.uk
University of York:
creative-industries@york.ac.uk
OTHER RESOURCES
How Yorkshire’s universities will help region recover – Shirley Congdon
“If the pandemic has shown us anything, it’s that we need to change the way we do business. As with any major upheaval, there have been winners and losers.” (19 March 2021, Yorkshire Post)
This event was part of the West Yorkshire Innovation Festival, a week-long series of events being held between 15th-19th March 2021.
4 February 2021, 10:30-12:00, via MS Teams
As published on the Yorkshire and Humber Climate Commission’s website on 27 January 2021.
Leaders from councils, businesses, utilities, unions, environmental groups and universities from across Yorkshire and Humber are coming together to tackle the climate crisis head on through a major new partnership.
The Yorkshire and Humber Climate Commission, which is set to launch formally in March, will provide an independent voice to help support and track the delivery of ambitious climate actions across the region.
Responding to the launch today of the Skills for Jobs White Paper, Dr Peter O’Brien, Executive Director of YU, said:
“Education, training and skills are vital to the prosperity of regions like Yorkshire. The commitment by the government to invest more resources in technical education, and introduce new mechanisms for individuals to participate in lifelong learning, is important, especially as the nature of employment and the economy undergoes continued change.”
Ask anyone in a university working on local growth or community engagement whether having dedicated funding for this activity makes their life easier, and you’ll nearly always be told it does. The same person may also bemoan the amount of red tape, small print and complexity involved with this funding – but the benefits of European Structural Investment Funds (ESIF), for example, outweighed the bureaucratic headaches and university engagement in ESIF grew year after year.
One of the last non-virtual gatherings (remember those?) I attended this year was the Climate + Culture + Collaboration event organised by Culture Forum North on the 27th of February. At the time of registering to it, I remember thinking it will be a treat to participate in something that combines professional and personal interests on the same date as my birthday, so I was really looking forward to it.
Commenting on the Government’s Spending Review, published today, Executive Director of Yorkshire Universities, Dr Peter O’Brien, said:
“The scale and depth of the economic, social and environmental challenges facing the country as a result of COVID-19 are stark – laid out by the analysis produced by the Office for Budget Responsibility. The evidence suggests that those regions and local areas defined as ‘left behind’, and where economies have not realised their full potential for some time, will be disproportionately impacted by the crisis.
A new report, ‘Unlocking the potential of civic collaboration’, offers fresh insight into collaborative working between the University of Leeds and Leeds City Council. Professor Adam Crawford and Professor Adrian Favell, of Leeds Social Sciences Institute, discuss why collaboration is becoming more important and its role in the West Yorkshire Devolution Deal.
