Innovation
What sets the East of England apart from other regions is a wealth of world class research expertise and strong knowledge transfer capability that is in tune with commercial reality. Our leading universities have strong industrial ties and work alongside commercial R&D departments in the region to push the frontiers of science and technology, while our specialist business incubators help businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity.
Key strengths lie in developing ideas and inventions within bio-energy, energy and power generation, low carbon automotive and non-food crops.
R&D
The East of England is the only UK region to rank in the EU's top 10 R&D regions and spends three times more than the UK average on commercial R&D to help speed innovations to market. The region boasts a range universities all of which have strong industrial ties and are pushing the frontiers of science and technology.
- Cranfield - Bringing together expertise in design, technology and management across Aerospace, Automotive, Bioscience, Energy, Environment and Security and Defence.
- University of Cambridge - The IfM at Cambridge University provides a unique environment for the creation of new ideas and approaches to modern industrial practice - from understanding markets and technologies, through product and process design to operations, distribution and related services.
- University of East Anglia - Science faculty comprises six Schools of Study and two affiliated Research Institutes including School of Computing Sciences www.uea.ac.uk/cmp and Environmental Sciences www.uea.ac.uk/env.
- University of Essex - The Faculty of Science and Engineering is made up of five academic departments/schools - School of Biological Sciences, Computer Science and Electronic Engineering Health and Human Sciences, Mathematics & Psychology.
- University of Hertfordshire - The School of Engineering and Technology at UoH has degree opportunities for those interested in manufacturing within the business context.
Commercialisation
The East of England is a supportive environment which helps businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through specialist business incubators, most of which are linked to the region's universities Knowledge Transfer Partnerships.
- Business Link - Offers advice for applying for IP protection overseas and in the UK.
- Enterprise Europe Network - Support for small businesses to make the most of the business opportunities in the European Union.
- KTPs - Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP's) are an established government supported scheme giving companies access to university knowledge and expertise. The 'partnership' - a company, a university and a nationally recruited graduate - work together on a project central to your business needs that requires the injection of knowledge, expertise and financial assistance. Below, you will find links to the KTP's within some of the East of England's universities.
- MAS East - MAS East is a dedicated source of support to engineering, manufacturing and technology businesses within the region.
- SEMTA/NSA-M - Provides support to UK businesses to drive improvements in productivity by transforming skills.
- UK Patent Office - Helps manufacturers to get the right type of protection for their creations and inventions.
Funding
Whether you are an entrepreneur looking for grants to take a new innovation from development to production, or an established manufacturing business looking for financial assistance to modernise or expand there are a number of regional grant and loan programmes to suit your needs including:
Grants for Business Investment (GBI) which are awarded to support the acquisition of key assets, such as buildings, plant and machinery and to support the creation of new jobs or to safeguard existing ones. Grants of between £10,000 and £2 million are available. Find out more here.
Earlier this year, RBS / NatWest launched a £1 billion nationwide manufacturing fund in response to feedback from customers in the sector who are anticipating growing demand for their products during 2010 and beyond. The bank will offer manufacturers loans on competitive fixed rates and with the option to defer repayments for up to three years. For more information, click here.
For these, and other funding options, visit the Finance line.