Production Park hosts Innovate UK Local

 

Jane Lambert

Production Park which hosted yesterday's Innovate Local West Yorkshire was a very different venue from the Great Victoria Hotel in Bradford or Dean Clough Mills in Halifax where previous Innovate UK Local events had been held.  Production Park describes itself as "a curated community of studios, technology and talent," It claims to have "helped the world’s biggest artists, brands, companies and channels produce world tours, shows, product launches, films and more." It is also an educational institution offering courses leading to first and postgraduate degrees in subjects relating to Production Park's activities,

As it is located on an industrial estate in South Kirkby, Production Park is not easy to find. Google Maps led me through residential streets and country lanes before delivering me to my destination. By the time I arrived, every space in the car park had been taken, so I parked in the widest and quietest part of the street, several hundred yards from the entrance.   

However, the moment I entered the room where the plenary sessions were taking place I could see why that venue had been chosen.   The room was cavernous.   It seemed as big as an aircraft hangar.  Tables lining the walls were occupied by exhibitors and caterers.  Several flights of stairs led to the ceiling,   An enormous screen projected images of the speakers who were seated on a dais overlooking the audience. Two years ago I attended the opening of Aria Studios just outside Llangefni (see Jane Lambert Aria Studios - its Importance to Northwest Wales 29 Jan 2023 NIPC Wales). Production Park was on a completely different scale.

The day began with a welcome from Megan Kearns, Knowledge Transfer Manager - Place (Local Partnerships), Jim Farnery, Director of External Affairs at Production Park, Sarah Bowes, Head of Business Innovation and Inclusive Economy at West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Lee Viney, Regional Manager at Innovate UK (Yorkshire & Humber and the North East).  They were followed by representatives of business support agencies in a session called "The Power of the Ecosystem in West Yorkshire."

In a Q&A session, my former MP, Jason McCartney, observed that the increase in defence spending announced by the Prime Minister was a business opportunity. He set up a company earlier this year that trades as Innovate Yorkshire,  According to its LinkedIn page, "Innovate Yorkshire is dedicated to helping businesses, charities, and organisations across Yorkshire and the North of England navigate complex challenges and unlock new opportunities."  He said that local companies were already winning defence business.

The last plenary session before lunch was called "My Business Innovation Journey,"  A panel of local business owners who had been assisted by Innovate UK were interviewed by a moderator about their dealings with Innovate UK.  They also took questions from the floor,   The industries represented ranged from medical devices to digital marketing. 

Our buffet lunch was tasty,   I chose couscous, prawns, salmon, mackerel strips, vegetables and onion bhajis.  I shared a table with Thierry Delange, Business Development Director of RTC North.  In Rise & Design in Marshall Mills on 28 Feb 2024, I noted that RTC North describes itself as "one of Europe’s leading technology transfer companies with a trusted reputation for delivering services in innovation and business growth."   During the lunch break, I visited the stands of ClimbUK, Leeds University Nexus, Leeds Beckett University's Knowledge Exchange, Trio and Innovate UK.  I was particularly interested to learn about Innovate UK's "No Limits" programme.

After lunch, we were offered the choice of three breakout sessions between 14:00 and 14:45:

• Driving Your Business Forwards: Innovate UK Business Growth;
• Financing Your Business Innovation Journey; and 
• No Limits To Innovation: Breaking Barriers and Building Futures.

I chose "Financing Your Business Innovation Journey" which turned out to be yet another panel discussion.

 

One of the speakers was Hana Hussein, Investment Director of Big Issue Invest, which is part of the Big Issue Group,  The Group exists to lift the most unfortunate members of the community out of poverty.  Big Issue Invest supports social enterprises, social-purpose businesses and charities that create core solutions to poverty.  

Another panel member represented Leeds Angels which was formed towards the end of 2024. While chatting to her after the session I learned that she was a patent attorney and that Leeds Angels had already held several dinners and pitching sessions.  We spoke about pitching and I mentioned my Tips for Pitching to Business Angels which I posted to NIPC Wales on 26 Feb 2025.

I asked about the advice and assistance that was available to companies that had made good use of private equity investment and were looking to expand still further through flotation.  I had previously raised that issue at Innovate UK's Regional Investment Spotlight in Liverpool on 26 June 2024 and at the Northern Powerhouse Roadshow at the Royal Armouries in October.  As in Liverpool and Leeds last year I was told that I had asked a good question but I did not get any good any good answers.  I believe that this is a vulnerability in our business support system which hurts our economy.  In my very modest way, I proposed a solution in From Startups to Scaleups in NIPC Wales on 19 Oct 2021.

The choice for the last breakout session between 15:00 and 15:45 was:

• Creative Innovation Powering West Yorkshire; 
• Empowering Innovation: Meet the Associates; and 
• Powering HealthTech Innovation: Unlocking West Yorkshire’s Ecosystem.

Having attended Huddersfield Health Innovation Partnership's first conference in September 2024 I chose the latter.

Instead of a panel discussion, the session convenor asked the contributors to the session who included John Cooper, Innovation Relationship Manager at West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Richard Hall of pd-m International, Lindsay Georgopoulos of Medipex and the representatives of Leeds University Nexus and Leeds Angels whom I had mentioned earlier to position themselves around the meeting room.  Attendees were encouraged to buttonhole the contributors and mark each meeting with a cross on a feedback form.  The whole session was called healthcare bingo.  It worked a lot better than it sounds.  I found myself in several meaningful conversations where I made or reinforced a connection or learned something new.

Production Park has its own fully licensed pub on its premises,  ClimbUK extended the networking until 17:00 by hosting a free bar for attendees.  As in Innovate UK Local's previous events in Bradford and Halifax, this gathering was well worth attending.  It would have been even better had the names and contact details of the speakers appeared on the Agenda.  A list of attendees would also have been useful.  Anyone wishing to discuss this article can call me on 020 7404 5252 during UK office hours or send me a message through my contact page at any time.

Rise & Design in Marshall's Mill

Author Steve Buxton Licence CC BY-SA 4.0 Deed  Source Wikimedia Commons

 

Jane Lambert

"Rise & Design" refers to Design Network North's free monthly networking meetings that take place on the second Friday of every month.  Design Network North is a project delivered by RTC North.  According to its website RTC North is "one of Europe’s leading technology transfer companies with a trusted reputation for delivering services in innovation and business growth." Its head office is in Sunderland and it has branches in Leeds and Daresbury.

I was introduced to Design Network North when it held a Rise & Design meeting at the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre in Huddersfield on 20 Jan 2017.   I wrote about the event in Rise & Design in Huddersfield on 21 Jan 2017.  Most of its other meetings have taken place in  Gateshead or other venues in North East England which is a long way to travel for a morning networking event,  

However, during lockdown, Terry McStea Head of Design at Design Network North held formal or informal online discussions for entrepreneurs, designers, makers and their professional advisors almost every week.  As I live on my own I was very grateful for those sessions because they helped me to keep in touch with the rest of humanity during that difficult period.  I discussed some of those events in Rise and Design Online: A Webinar for Designers in Northeast England on Designing our Way out of Lockdown 16 June 2020 IP North East, The Impact of EU Exit on the Health and Life Science Sectors 19 Nov 2020,  IP North East, Rise & Design: Wearable Tech Webinar 13 March 2021, IP North East and The Bright Side of Death 14 Oct 2021, IP North East.

On 23 Feb 2024, Design Network North held a Rise & Design in the Chapter Hall of the Northern Monk brewery in the Old Flax Store of Marshall's Mill on Marshall Street in Leeds.  The Chapter Hall is at the top of several flights of stairs of a building that does not have a lift,   As I am still nursing an injury that I sustained in a ballet workshop nearly 2 years ago I had to work hard and take my time to reach the meeting room.  Happily, ample supplies of hot drinks and sausage and bacon rolls rewarded our exertions.  I was one of the first to arrive and I made several new acquaintances over those refreshments before the meeting began.

Eventually, Terry called us to order and invited us to greet and exchange pleasantries with the person sitting next to us.  I met Sharon Sheard of Medola Comms on my table.   Terry then introduced Design Network North and the day's topic which was "The Power of Innovation".  He explained that innovation meant a new way of doing things which could include inventions but the concept was much wider than that.  Changing the way we communicate with customers, manage our staff or find new suppliers can also count.   Each of the speakers discussed a different aspect of the concept.

The first speaker was Fiona Conor, Managing Director of Trust Electric Heating Ltd. who had been on her feet when I arrived at the UK RI's Innovate Local event at Dean Clough Mills on 14 Nov 2023 (see Innovate Local Visits Halifax 29 Nov 2023). Mrs Conor's husband had invented a wall-mountable electric heater for which their company had sought a European patent.  Apparently, the initial design had been unpatentable but Mr Conor introduced some refinements which satisfied the examiners.  The speaker also told us that part of the development work had been undertaken by a university with Knowledge Transfer Exchange funding.   There was a short debate on the merits of collaboration between businesses and universities in Mrs Conor's Q&A in which I participated.

The second speaker was Darren Evans of the Engine Room whom I first met when the consultancy was based in the Huddersfield Media Centre.  Mr Evans is an engaging speaker whose abiding message was that one's brand is one's business and vice versa.    He discussed the case history of Paxman Coolers Ltd. which has developed a device to cool chemotherapy patients' scalps thereby preventing or reducing hair loss.  I remembered that that device had been featured at the Rise & Design meeting in Huddersfield just over 7 years ago.  I remarked in the Q&A that it had been impressive then and was even more interesting now.

The last speaker was Richard Hall of pd-m who is a product design consultant.   I have known him for many years and have chaired many meetings at which he has been the guest speaker and also shared platforms with him on more than one occasion.   He had been one of the speakers at the Rise & Design meeting in Huddersfield in 2017.  He always has something interesting to say and I think it was the opportunity to hear his presentation that attracted me to that Rise & Design meeting in Huddersfield.  Last Friday's event was the first time we had met since lockdown. pdM has grown over the years and has taken on new staff.  Most of its work is in the medical devices sector.   

After the talks, I gave a short pitch for the Initial Advice and Signposting service that I am relaunching from the Barnsley Business Village (see Relaunch of the Barnsley IP Clinic 16 Feb 2024) and promoting the IPEC Small Claims Track in Leeds (see Bringing or Defending a Small IP Claim in Leeds 8 Feb 2024). Incidentally, I have offered an Iittial Advice and Signposting service in the North East as well as Yorkshire since 2020 (see Initial Advice and Signposting in North East England 24 May 2020 IP North East)  and its has been possible to bring small IP claims in Newcastle upon Tyne as well as Leeds for several years (see Small Claims Track IP Litigation in Newcastle upon Tyne 19 July 2019 IP North Easr.

Both the Yorkshire and the North East England initial advice and signposting schemes operate on a triage basis.  If, for example, it appears that a client needs to see a patent attorney I will try to make a free 30-minute appointment with one which can take place by phone, Zoom or in the attorney's office.  One of the new connections that I made on Friday was with Greg Carty-Hornsby of Marks & Clerk.  He also gave a short presentation immediately after me and he has kindly agreed to give users of our initial advice and safeguarding service who need to meet a patent attorney up to 30 minutes of his time.

The last presenter was Ian Barber of IT consultancy Reach Aware Ltd which offers IT support and outsourcing.

Terry announced that the next Rise & Design meeting will take place in Newcastle.  There will be a video link for those who cannot attend in person.  He also promised a return to Huddersfield on 7 June 2024.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on 020 7404 5252 during normal business hours or send a message by my contact page. 

Rise & Design in Huddersfield

Jane Lambert

"It is not every office that has a 3D printer chugging away in reception" I thought to myself as I passed through the entrance of the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre in Huddersfield. I was there at the opening in 2012 (see Launch of Huddersfield University's 3M Buckley Innovation Centre 27 Sept 2012). Despite my offer "to help on behalf of my network of patent and trade mark attorneys, solicitors, product design consultants, angels, financial institutions and other contacts with talks, clinics and any other way I can" they had not been in touch with them nor they with me.

The reason I came back was a Rise & Design networking meeting arranged by Design Network North at the Centre between 08:30 and 12:00 on Friday, 20 Jan 2016. The theme of the meeting was "The Power of Collaboration". The event consisted of presentations by:

• Richard Hall of pd-m and Dr Pete Culmer of the University of Leeds;
• Amanda Scacchetti, Innovation Director at Mamas & Papas, and
• Patrick Burke of Paxman Coolers Ltd and Ertu Enver and Chris Sorbie of Huddersfield University.

There were short pitches by various members of the audience and a quick news update by Terry McStea, network manager of Design Network North.

Pete Culmer had already described his collaboration with Richard Hall on his LinkedIn page:

"Richard and his team at Pd-m were commissioned to work with our Surgical Technologies research group on the commercialization of a medical device here are the University of Leeds.

We needed Pd-m’s expertise in converting a research-level concept into an innovative, realisable and manufacturable product which we could present to commercial partners for a license deal.

The project required Richard and his team to work closely with a multidisciplinary team including academic researchers at the university, surgeons at Leeds Teaching Hospitals and commercial partners.

Pd-m were instrumental in helping to deliver a robust prototype for evaluation in a product live trial at the project’s culmination, ensuring that it was a success.

In summary, Richard and his team are a professional innovation consultancy and I can highly recommend them."

 Amanda Scacchetti spoke about developing a market for her company's reconditioned pushchairs which she described as tantamount to a start-up.  She spoke about the coordination of technical and marketing staff within the business, the market research that was undertaken, the financial planning and the not-inconsiderable risks that were taken in the early days. She mentioned the emotional attachment that families develop for their children's pushchairs and how some actually conducted farewell rituals as though they were seeing off a member of the family.  She reported that the scheme has been a success and has actually boosted sales of new accessories.

The last presentation was on the development of a cap for cooling the scalp of patients undergoing chemotherapy by academics of the University of Huddersfield for Paxman Coolers Ltd. The purpose of the cap is to protect hair follicles from chemotherapy drugs by cooling the scalp to a temperature that impedes blood flows. The device is in use in hospitals around the world and patients wearing the cap report relatively little hair loss. Apparently it took several iterations with different tools and materials to perfect the product and several samples of the device were demonstrated to us.  Patrick Burke proudly told us that his company had two UK and two "world patents" for the cap.  Had there been time for questions I would have asked him about Paxman's IP strategy, in particular, the countries in which patents were sought, whether any of the applications had been granted and how they would fund the defence of a revocation claim or an infringement action given the cost of IP litigation in this and other common law jurisdictions. Sadly, there was no time and they left the meeting before I could make my way over to them.

There was, however, time for me to greet Richard Hall whom I have known for many years and with whom I have collaborated occasionally.  It was good to renew my acquaintance with Ian Rowland of Grant Thornton and to meet his colleague, Emily. I also renewed acquaintances with Adrian Sewell who has started to practise as Tandem Patents just outside Keighley and introduced myself to Phil Stephenson of Bailey Walsh. Other folk I met after the talks included Robin Tones of RTC, Gill Watson of Kirklees Council and Leeds LEP, Jason Roebuck of Fizical Design and Tim Stern of AME.

Both the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre and Design Networth North announced some interesting networking meetings which I shall tru to attend in future.

Sheffield Inventors Group News

As the first Monday of this month fell on Easter Monday the April meeting of the Sheffield Inventors Group will take place on 8 April 2013 at 18:00 in the Jackson Room of Sheffield Central Library. The speaker will be Richard Hall of pd-m International Ltd.

Richard has spoken to the Group before and is well known as a product design and manufacturing consultant.  Samples of his company's work can be seen on the "Our Work" page of its website. Its clients range from private inventors, SMEs, manufacturers, universities and investors and its design portfolio covers medical, healthcare, consumer, industrial, lighting and nursery.equipment.

The title of Richard's talk is 'Production Development to Production - Avoiding the Pitfalls' which he promises to be a networking opportunity.

The other news from Sheffield is that the Group welcomes Susanne Knight as its new organizer. 

If you would like more information about the event or the group call or email Susanne on 0114 273 4727.