ESRC – KTP’s

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Josephine Beech

On 25 February the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) will launch a call for retail-themed KTPs as part of its £2.5 million Retail Sector Initiative, funding collaborative research and knowledge exchange activities in the sector. Their recent announcement states that—”Understanding the behaviours of individual people, communities and organisations is key to understanding the challenges now facing the retail sector”. They particularly welcome, therefore, proposals in the following areas:

1) the changing nature of the UK high street and changing retail spaces

2) e-commerce, m-commerce and omni-channel retailing

3) consumer (including ‘big’) data

For more information please see the following link to the pre-call announcement on the ESRC website:

http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding-and-guidance/funding-opportunities/16967/esrc-retail-sector-initiative-2013.aspx

The ESRC are holding a launch event for the Retail Sector Initiative on 28 February 2013, further information about this event is available at the following link:

http://www.esrc.ac.uk/news-and-events/events/24936/launch-workshop-for-the-esrc-retail-sector-initiative-2013.aspx

A full briefing document will be available next week.

Contact Dominic Collins: d.collins@staffs.ac.uk , ext. 3404, for further information.

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Enterprise and Commercial Development visit to Brasov (Transylvania) within Romania

Posted on February 20, 2013 by ck7

CK2002ECDVisittoBrasov

Please see the attached Blog reporting on the recent ECD visit to Brasov in order to establish important links with Brasov Romania in place of the regular legal information posting.

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Engineering for Growth campaign to show the value of engineering to the economy and society

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Esther KNIGHT

The Royal Academy of Engineering has launched its Engineering for Growth campaign with a collection of activities to stimulate entrepreneurship and a report highlighting the £481bn contribution engineering makes to the UK economy.

Engineering for Growth will be a major theme for the Academy in 2013. It will demonstrate the economic impact and societal benefits delivered by engineering and provide the focus for specific activities designed to drive business innovation.

“Engineering for Growth is aligned with both our advocacy and operational activities,” says Sir John Parker GBE FREng, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

“Engineering already makes up at least 28% of the UK economy and employs over 5.4 million people. It will need to play an even greater role as we rebalance and deliver growth in the economy. We will continue to highlight the huge benefits of investing in innovation and relevant skills as well running our own programmes in support of stimulating economic activity.”

Sir Roger Carr, President of the CBI, says: “The UK economy can only grow if it has the ability to turn innovative ideas into dynamic products and services. Engineering for Growth highlights the vital role engineering will need to play if we are to achieve this and maintain our place as a global economic power.”

Business Secretary Vince Cable says: “Engineering is central to building a stronger economy, which is why skills are such an important part of the Government’s Industrial Strategy. Engineers contribute widely to many areas of the economy; their understanding of technology and the opportunities it brings is helping drive up competitiveness across many sectors. Engineering for Growth activities will certainly play their part in supporting our ambitions to support talent-growth in the sector.

“We strongly support the Royal Academy of Engineering’s work to help young, highly-skilled engineers to develop entrepreneurial skills to take technologies to market. Small businesses are an important part of an agile economy, and having entrepreneurism as well as technical knowledge of the sector is essential to ensure success.”

The Academy’s Engineering for Growth campaign is available from: www.engineeringforgrowth.org.uk

Later this spring the Academy will launch the Enterprise Hub, a new business resource that will see a large number of Academy Fellows mentoring new engineering and technology start-ups.

As part of the Hub’s activities, the Academy aims to build on its Engineering Enterprise Fellowships programme, which enables entrepreneurial academics to spend a year starting a business.

The Academy also aims to build a new programme that will take ‘the best of the best’ early stage companies and provide them with a long term package of mentoring, training and bespoke support.

The Academy will continue to fund over 130 Researchers and build crucial links between industry and academia – providing the lifeblood for innovation in the UK.

Founded in 1976, the Royal Academy of Engineering promotes the engineering and technological welfare of the country. The fellowship – comprising the UK’s most eminent engineers – provides the leadership and expertise for the activities, which focus on the relationships between engineering, technology, and the quality of life. As a national academy, it provides independent and impartial advice to Government; work to secure the next generation of engineers; and provide a voice for Britain’s engineering community. http://www.raeng.org.uk/

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Funding for commercialisation of Intellectual Property

Posted on February 18, 2013 by ejd2

The Armourers and Brasiers’ Company is, through the Gauntlet Trust, one of the leading supporters of materials science education and research at schools and universities in the UK. They provide direct financial support for the commercialisation of promising research via the provision of an annual Armourers and Brasiers’ Materials Science Venture Prize.

The scheme is focused on an annual prize of £25,000 in the form of an investment into the enterprise and is judged on a competitive basis by a committee of commercial, financial and scientific experts. This prize is intended to enable the winner to fund a significant commercial advancement of the project to a stage where a business may be created to exploit this technology.

The deadline for applications is 31st March 2013, with further details at http://www.armourershall.co.uk/index.php. Please contact externalprojects@staffs.ac.uk if you are interested.

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Horizon 2020 new EU research funding programme

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Esther KNIGHT

Over 40 academics from Staffs and Keele gathered last Wednesday to hear about the latest proposals for EU research funding from Jo Frost of the Brussels based UK Research Office. The day, organised by the External Projects team of Enterprise and Commercial Development covered the EU budget proposals for the 2024-2020 period.

Jo outlined areas that would continue as well as those where changes were anticipated, one potential development is for a separate area of funding for the humanities.

Areas for funding are to be grouped under three broad headings I) Excellent Science II) Industrial Leadership III) Societal challenges – in terms of Staffordshire University strengths, areas that there will be there will be funding available for include research related to health, demographic change, well being as well as inclusive and innovative societies.

Colleagues also heard from successful work the University is already undertaking with EU partners from Prof Nachi Chockaligham, and Enterprise Reader Jon Fairburn. Both highlighted areas of Continuing Professional Development as one of the benefits of partnership working.

Detailed power point presentations can be found here:

Horizon 2020 Horizon 2020 detail Erasmus for all

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Life Sciences Summit – Free W Midlands Event

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Josephine Beech

THE FUTURE BUSINESS OF HEALTHCARE

Monday 18th & Tuesday 19th March 2013 Edgbaston Stadium, Birmingham

Join high profile speakers, leading clinical and academic experts and business leaders from across the UK at the inaugural Life Science Summit.

Attend this FREE 2 day event and benefit from a unique opportunity to hear about major developments taking place in the region’s Life Science sector.

Featuring a keynote speech from the Office of Life Science, delegates will also hear from representatives of the University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, University of Birmingham, Health Technology Co-operative, West Midlands Academic Health Science Network and the pioneering NIHR Surgical Reconstruction & Microbiology Research Centre.

In addition, presentations from key business leaders will provide a unique opportunity to learn, understand and discuss where the future of healthcare business lies. Discover what’s new and meet with those who can help you innovate, improve effectiveness and build competitive advantage.

The final summit programme will be released soon, however themes to be covered include:

Translating research into business
Digital Health
Academic Health Science Networks – changing the way academia, industry and the NHS engage
Marketing the Business of Healthcare
Incubation and start up for life science business
Evidence based innovation
Trauma medicines and technologies – the opportunities for industry

The event will also incorporate the launch of the Edgbaston Medical Quarter – which provides a focus on and recognition of the world-class medical and healthcare provision Edgbaston, Birmingham has to offer.

This event is FREE to attend and will attract at least 250 delegates each day. With over 100 bookings taken already, register today to avoid disappointment.

For more information on exhibition and sponsorship opportunities please contact Lucy Watkins on 0121 452 5630 or email LucyW@MedilinkWM.co.uk

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Newspaper Licensing Agency (et al) v Public Relations Consultants Ltd (et al): temporary downloading of copyright from the Internet

Posted on February 12, 2013 by ck7

CK1202PublicRelationsConsultantsvNewpaperLicensingAuthoritySupCt

Please see attached a short note of the appeal currently before the UK Supreme Court regarding the ambit of the section 28A exception to copyright infringement (the making of temporary copies) and when the section 28A exception could be relied upon.

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MEPs ponder veto of EU budget

Posted on February 12, 2013 by BENNETT Margaret

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12 Feb 13

MEPs from four political parties have threatened to veto the overall budget package for 2014-20 agreed by the EU Council on 8 February, arguing that it does not provide sufficient support for growth and investment in Europe.

In a cross-party statement published immediately after the deal was announced, MEPs representing the Greens/EFA, EPP, S&D and ALDE parties of the parliament said: “The European Parliament cannot accept today’s deal in the European Council as it is.” According to the parliament leaders, “The core priority behind Parliament’s choices is the ambition to promote growth and investment in the EU… this agreement will not strengthen the competitiveness of the European economy but weaken it.”

On 8 February, European heads of state agreed a compromise on the budget from 2014 to 2020, which must now be approved by the Parliament to enter into force from the beginning of 2014.

In the early hours of Friday morning, during the summit of EU leaders, European Parliament’s president Martin Schulz said the compromise would “not secure the approval” of the parliament. “We cannot agree to cut back on research, innovation and education – these are going to be cut drastically, and this simply doesn’t match the Europe 2020 goals,” he said.

The deal approved by the Council indicates the budget for the Horizon 2020 research programme will be around €69bn, if all unspecified areas of competitiveness spending receive equal reductions. Previously, the Commission said Horizon 2020 should receive €80bn, whilst the parliament has argued the research and innovation programme needs €100bn to provide a much-needed boost to growth and innovation.

Schulz also expressed concerns that the gap between the two levels of spending in the budget—commitments, the upper ceiling for spending, and payments, the amount predicted to be spent—was too large. He said this could only contribute to an ever-increasing structural deficit in the EU budget and risk annual payment crises for programmes such as Horizon 2020 unless budget shortfalls are met by supplementary budgets.

Schulz said he had been informed of plans by leaders of the four main parties to ensure MEPs vote via a secret ballot, which would make it more likely that the parliament would reject the budget proposal, as members would be less likely to be swayed by national influences ahead of upcoming elections. Signatures from 151 MEPs would be needed for the vote to be conducted anonymously, said Schulz.

However, Martin Callanan, the leader of the European Conservatives and Reformists party — a centre-right group dominated by the British Conservative Party — said that a secret vote would constitute a “highly cynical and unaccountable act” on one of the parliament’s most important votes.

Callanan said that undertaking the procedure would undermine the credibility of the European Parliament, arguing that MEPs must remain accountable to their voters and explain why they do not support their national governments.

“If MEPs want to reject an agreement made by their own prime ministers then they should have the courage of their convictions and not try to cower behind a procedural technicality,” said Callanan.

by Laura Greenhalgh

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Business, Innovation and Skills Committee to further question Lord Heseltine

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Esther KNIGHT

The Business, Innovation and Skills Committee will take further evidence from Lord Heseltine on Tuesday 12 February at 9.30am

The session will allow the Committee an opportunity to question Lord Heseltine on matters arising from the publication of his Report, No Stone Unturned in Pursuit of Growth, including the localism agenda, economic growth, industrial strategy, Local Enterprise Partnerships and the Regional Growth Fund.

Image: PA

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