|
 |
Knowledge West News Archive01/10/2008: Knowledge West Supports SW Region Drive to Build Biofuel ProductionThe UK Government’s Road Transport Fuel Obligation is set at 5% fuel substitution with Biofuels by 2010 leading to the EU target of 10% substitution by 2020. As the SW region strives to meet these targets sharing best practice information is important in developing this industry further. Knowledge West has sponsored a series of in-depth case studies of existing projects for the commercial production of Biodiesel in the SW region to inform the decision making processes of potential Biofuel-related ventures. 01/09/2008: Knowledge West Enterprise Awards 2008 – Just Keeps Getting BetterKnowledge West is pleased to announce the second Knowledge West Enterprise Awards to recognise and reward the best business ideas and new enterprises by students and alumni from the six Higher Education Institutes in the West of England. With all six institutes nominating entries this year, Knowledge West looks forward to showcasing these budding entrepreneurs in the region. 28/07/2008: Region Hailed as Driving Force of InnovationScience City Bristol will this week welcome Ian Pearson, Minister for Science and Innovation so that he can experience first hand the innovative technologies being developed in the region. The visit, part of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) Innovation Nation roadshow, will promote the Government's vision for science, innovation and knowledge transfer in the UK and give the Minister an opportunity to find out more about the South West's innovative business culture. 14/07/2008: Enterprise Europe Network South West - Identify innovation, Access new markets, Profit by partneringLaunched in February 2008 the Enterprise Europe Network is an initiative of the European Commission’s DG Enterprise & Industry dedicated to enable greater business co-operation between SMEs in 40 countries. Drawing on the combined experience of the South West Regional Development Agency, UK Trade & Investment, GWE Business West and part-funded by the European Commission, the network will be well represented in the South West, helping companies that have identified innovation and / or internationalisation as the key to future growth. 01/07/2008: Local Businesses Step Up to SuccessSmall and medium-sized businesses across the West Country are being offered the opportunity to sign up some of the UK’s brightest and most enterprising undergraduates to help kick-start or manage specific business projects throughout the summer months, thanks to the Shell Step scheme. 27/06/2008: ‘A Piece of Cake!' - University of Gloucestershire Announces its Business Plan Competition WinnersThe University of Gloucestershire’s new BUG (Business planning at the University of Gloucestershire) Competition finally came to an end at this year’s Growing Gloucestershire conference where the winners were announced and awards presented. From over 80 people who originally contacted BUG with their business ideas, the 6 competition finalists attended the conference and waited eagerly for the awards to be announced. 25/06/2008: Aerospace Performance Set to Soar thanks to University of Bristol New Enterprise Competition WinnerThe aerospace, automobile and sports industries could dramatically reduce the cost and time of desiging new products, thanks to a breakthrough new technology. Eclat Solution Ltd, winners of the University of Bristol's 2008 New Enterprise Competition have developed a new technology based on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), which promises to increase efficiency while reducing costs. 23/06/2008: Trainee Tycoon Wins UWE's theBizIdea CompetitionNow in its seventh year, the University of the West of England's theBizIdea Competition keeps on growing and attracting brilliant ideas from the campus tycoons of the future. This year, there was a new Creative Design Idea Prize to add to the awards for Best Business Idea, Best Social Enterprise and Best Marketing Award. Winner of the Best Business Idea prize was Carolyn Newton with her idea for foldable eco-friendly shopping bags, called Whalebags. Carolyn said, “I can't wait for the next step in my business. Supermarket chains have already shown interest so the prize money and business mentoring will help Whalebags reach a wider market.” 12/06/2008: Pervasive Media Studio Opens its DoorsThe Pervasive Media Studio opened in January 2008 as a place where people can find out more about media of the future, a space for collaborative projects that build, test and develop ideas for projects that take computers and their content off desktops and out in to the real world. 03/06/2008: A Grand Idea - Students Demonstrate Impressive Entrepreneurial TalentRoyal Agricultural College students have been demonstrating their entrepreneurial talent in front of a panel of top judges as part of a 'Dragon's Den' style competition called The Grand Idea. The winner, Emma Pudney, impressed the judging panel with her business plan and pitch for Speckled Hen Childcare, a nursery based on a farm with the aim of introducing children to animals and to the concept of where their food comes from. 29/04/2008: Lord Sainsbury Unveils Science Park MasterplanSPark, the new £300 million science park for Bristol and Bath, launched today 29 April 2008 with Lord Sainsbury, the UK's leading expert on Science and Innovation unveiling a model and images of how the first building, SPark One, will look. 29/04/2008: SPark in the Science CitySpark, the new £300 million science park for Bristol and Bath, launched today 29 April 2008 with Lord Sainsbury, the UK’s leading expert on Science and Innovation, unveiling a model and images of how the first building, Spark One, will look. The announcement came as part of a one day conference celebrating Science City Bristol and all that the city-region has done and continues to do in the world of science and technology. 24/04/2008: Open Studio Fridays at the Pervasive Media StudioLove working at home but miss the opportunity for creative brainstorming and interesting conversations? Work in a studio/office but want a change of environment occasionally? Inspired by Jelly in New York, every week the Pervasive Media Studio opens its doors to anyone who fancies some casual co-working. There will be chairs, tables, wireless and a great space. You bring what you need to work with (laptop/mobile) and provide the conversation. 17/04/2008: Claire Goes Potty About China - And Wins Business AwardCeramics student Claire Baker, who is setting up her own pottery business linked to China, has become Bath Spa University's entrepreneur of the year for 2008. She has been awarded the top £1,000 prize as winner of the University's first Business Plan Competition. As the winner Claire now also has the opportunity of going forward to the Knowledge West enterprise competition, for all the region's universities, later this year. 14/04/2008: Knowledge West Supports Budding Non-Executive Directors to Get on TrackFollowing the success of last years Knowledge West Non-Executive Director Development programme, Knowledge West is again sponsoring senior academics from our six partner HEIs through the 2008 Non-Executive Director Development programme. 31/03/2008: WANTED: Brilliant Business Ideas!Vysiion, the latest start-up company to join the University of Bath’s Innovation Centre is hunting for talented students to join them. The company, which has also just announced its sponsorship of the student enterprise society BANTER, is open to any new business ideas. Vysiion Chairman and serial entrepreneur, Bruce Brain, said: ”We’re interested in talking to any students with an idea they would like to turn into a reality. I’ve been particularly impressed with the innovative ideas presented as part of the Business Plan Competition, and would be keen to encourage any student to contact us if they also have a good idea”. 26/03/2008: Biomass Case Studies - Sharing Best PracticeTo support the uptake of biomass energy, a flagship project has run a series of best practice studies of local biomass projects to share the findings with potential users and stakeholders. To date seven case studies have been written. 20/03/2008: Fourth Viewfinder Film Festival hits the Big Screen this AprilViewfinder Film Festival returns for the fourth year with a mid-week festival of short films featuring talent from Gloucestershire and the wider South West region. The festival will be taking place 7th to 10th April 2008 and will be a week celebrating great cinema, with screenings, talks and events taking place at Cheltenham's Cineworld. 17/03/2008: 'Fruit Aid' Project Wins Student Business Plan CompetitionNilima Ajakumar has won the University of Bath’s student business plan competition with her project entry ‘Fruit Aid’. Nilima, a third year mathematics student, impressed the panel of judges with her idea, Fruit Aid: a project based in Kerala, India. “I’m thrilled to have won the student business plan competition, taking part has been a great experience,” said Nilima, a member of the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) student team. “Working with my business mentors has given me really valuable advice which has helped me shape my plan. The £1,000 prize money will enable me to expand the scheme this year.” 07/03/2008: Be Part of the Equation - Bristol Science City launchedBristol Science City launched today with support for a range of fun events, lectures and demonstrations celebrating the city’s world class scientific research and innovation. The week kicks off with ‘Science Alive! 2008’ which will be held in Bristol's Broadmead Mall Galleries shopping centre on Friday 7th and Saturday 8th March and ‘Bath Taps into Science’ at the University of Bath on Friday 7th and Bath’s Green Park Station on Saturday 8th March. These hands-on events will show the public some of the world-class research that’s taking place on their doorstep. This will be followed up by a string of further events around the city details of which can be found on the newly-launched www.sciencecitybristol.com 07/01/2008: SW Innovators Share How to Easily Use Biomass TechnologyProducing energy from biomass has both environmental and economic advantages. There are an increasing number of businesses in the South West successfully using biomass technology and there is also strong interest from other businesses to learn from these early examples and see how the technology has been successfully applied. To support this uptake of biomass energy, a flagship project has run a series of best practice studies of local biomass projects to share the findings with potential users and stakeholders. This project was led by the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, with support from Knowledge West and other HEIs in the region. This collaborative study has been funded through the Knowledge Exploitation South West project (KESW2) by the South West Regional Development Agency. 16/12/2007: Students to ‘hear it from’ the Industry at the Short Film Festival - IIThe University of the West of England (UWE) MA Media (Screenwriting) students found the Encounters Short Film Festival at the Watershed was buzzing with people, with a mixture of languages being an indication of how international the event has become. 'As an MA student in Media (Screenwriting) at UWE I was in the midst of developing my own short film screenplay so it was definitely useful to get a look at what other work was out there and pick up one or two handy hints of what, and what not, to do.' stated Lesley Farrow. 15/12/2007: Knowledge West enables Students to ‘hear it from’ the Industry at the Short Film FestivalEncouraging learning from the industry, Knowledge West continues to sponsor Media students from Bath Spa University, University of the West of England, University of Bristol and University of Gloucestershire to attend the Encounters Short Film festival. Up to 40 students could choose from the film school, animation talent symposium, and focused discussions as well as the festival screenings themselves. All universities and students enthusiastically participated and subsequently shared some learning from the event. As Eleni Moshoyiannis remarked 'It was frightening and exciting to hear "war stories" of the film industry from people that have been in the field quite a while. They gave us tips, shared their previous mistakes, discussed the various ways of funding available to us and in overall the panel made sure we knew what the industry is looking for in a pitch.' 10/12/2007: UWE scoops at Enterprise AwardsTom Bennett is revelling in success after a great week. He has just won the top prize of £5,000 for the Best Student Plan in the Knowledge West Enterprise Awards 2007 with his idea, Interactive Places. Tom will be using this cash to help set up his company in a UWE business incubator in the coming months. UWE graduate Nic Smith did not leave the Knowledge West Enterprise Awards empty handed. Not only did he walk away with a merit award of £1000 but all five of the judges were so impressed with the CoolBoard that they all bought one! 01/12/2007: Knowledge West boosts budding University businessThe innovative spirit of Brunel is alive and well thanks to the Knowledge West Enterprise Awards competition, which reached its final on board the historic SS Great Britain. Tom Bennett from the University of the West of England (UWE) won £5,000 for the Best Student Business Plan category with his idea, Interactive Places. The top award in the £10,000 Most Innovative Start-up Company category was shared between two winners - James Jardella (Travellingbug) and Adrian Burholt (The Key Revolution), both from the University of Bath. "We had outstanding presentations by the finalists this year," said Peter McCarthy, chairman of the judging panel. "The standard was so high that after some deliberation the five-judge panel decided to award joint top prizes for the Most Innovative Start-up Company category." 01/12/2007: Double Win for University of Bath Innovation BusinessesAt last week’s finals of the Knowledge West inter-university business plan competition, the University of Bath came out on top, winning a double first prize. 03/09/2007: Knowledge West Enterprise Awards 2007The Knowledge West Enterprise Awards recognise and reward the best business ideas and new enterprises by students, staff and alumni from the six HEIs in West of England. 19/04/2007: South West Region Biomass and Biofuels ReviewA report of a study into the use of biomass and biofuels to generate energy, the market boundaries that are frustrating their use and development in the South West, and the identification of areas that would benefit from further research and funding. 19/04/2007: Cotswold Inventors Fair*Cotswold Inventors grab the opportunity to get backing for their ideas at another successful round of the Inventors Fair held at the University of Gloucestershire. *The Cotswold Inventors Fair is part of the 2007 series for Smart Thursday. 18/01/2007: Bristol SkillSwap – All Cheer for Another Year!Bristol SkillSwap, supported by Knowledge West, has launched its second year with a re-vival demonstration of the increasingly popular, open source software, Plone. It was presented by local company Netsight to the local digital media community. 12/12/2006: Cost Engineering Capability Study (South West Aerospace & Defence)A scoping report into Cost Engineering practices in the South West region discussing the issues of moving towards open book tendering and cost estimating practices within the supply chain. 24/11/2006: ICE – University of Bath’s International Centre for the EnvironmentThe University of Bath’s International Centre for the Environment (ICE) is a virtual environmental network linking its academics, researchers and external stakeholders. ICE aims to promote and coordinate an interdisciplinary approach to research, teaching and communicating. Its website provides a gateway into the University and signposts visitors to areas of environmental research expertise, its seminar calendar and more. "The International Centre for the Environment is an open and progressive forum for research and innovation on environmental issues. This academic and industry network is in an excellent position to inform and shape progress." 05/09/2006: Fern Urquhart - New Director for Knowledge West‘Knowledge West’, the knowledge exchange consortium of six universities in the West of England, has appointed Fern Urquhart as the new Director. With extensive experience in working with business organisations on projects where university expertise can assist their progress, Fern is currently Business Interface Manager at the University of the West of England. Over the last two years Fern has been chairing a collaborative project, Knowledge Exploitation South West (KESW), across all South West universities. KESW, which is funded by the South West Regional Development Agency, supports the growth of business in the South West through the transfer of expertise from Higher Education. Fern is also a non executive director of the Brandon Trust, a large charity in Bristol working in the field of learning disabilities and a founding member of St Peter’s Hospice. 14/08/2006: Tips for successful Farmers’ MarketsThe Skills Management And Rural Training (SMART) Programme held a free training event on 16 January 2006 aimed at improving Farmers’ Market stalls. Stallholders were given tips on how to increase their stalls’ appeal to potential customers and how to improve their personal sales techniques. The course was designed to help the delegates gain maximum potential from their stalls. 25/07/2006: Growth and Success through InnovationRegional organisations had an opportunity to learn from the ‘best’ at the ‘Growth and Success through Innovation’ event. It was dedicated to introducing key elements from the winning strategies of successful and innovative companies. Presentations by Beacon Companies Renishaw and Bottlegreen Drinks Company were reinforced by insights from practical experiences. Beacon South West is supported by South West Regional Development Agency. 24/07/2006: CatBot - Sharing Digital Media from Peer to PeerCatBot is an open source system designed for easy distribution of large files using peer-to-peer technology (p2p). The system will allow local media business and members within the higher education institution (HEI) community to access, share, and exchange digital media material quickly and easily. "This project is one of the leading examplars of how internet technology can be applied to everyday problems, to produce elegant and very effective results. Major media companies across the globe are beginning to wake up to the power of p2p technology and this project places the focus firmly within the South West, giving us a chance to both showcase local talent and demonstrate we have the foresight to be world leaders in this field." Ana Kronschnabl, Project Co-ordinator for FluffyLogic 17/07/2006: M4 Innovation Network Conitnues to Inspire InnovationM4 Innovation Network aims to stimulate improvements in technology-based businesses through its diverse membership interactions. Membership is intentionally diverse enabling cross-fertilisation of ideas and business practices between enterprises of different sizes, and across industry sectors. Five interactive meetings are held annually on ‘hot’ topics and hosted by members located along the M4 corridor from London to Bristol. 04/07/2006: The Future just got GREENerGloucestershire Resource Efficiency & Environment Network (GREEN) celebrates its 10 year anniversary with a new name and a new focus on resource efficiency. Located at the University of Gloucestershire, GREEN is well-networked, strongly supported by its partners, and is a member of a number of regional strategic environmental forums. 27/06/2006: Knowledge West leading Regional Initiative on Cost ModellingKnowledge West is leading a regional collaboration aiming to develop a cost engineering performance evaluation, or capability assessment, tool. This project is involving the Aerospace and Defence sectors, expertise from the Universities of Bath and of the West of England, cost modelling practitioners, experts and other interested parties. “With the ever increasing pressure on project cost and performance, the MoD Pricing and Forecasting Group are pleased to be working together with Industry and Universities to develop improved cost engineering practices.” explained Terry Johns, Development Team Leader, Pricing Forecasting Group, Ministry of Defence (MoD) 21/06/2006: If you need a business solution, simply askten.co.ukTEN practices what it promotes to organisations UK-wide, by continually improving operations and communicating this effectively. To achieve the acclaimed 10/10 award, organisations will need to demonstrate continual improvement. Thanks to a new advisers’ network and partners such as Knowledge West, it is made easier for organisations to access a breadth of expertise to guide and advise them towards excellence. 12/04/2006: Collaborating to Improve the RegionKnowledge West is led by the University of the West of England and is a collaboration with the Universities of Bath, Bath Spa, Bristol and Gloucestershire, the Royal Agricultural College and Business West. Knowledge West is a local gateway to world-class expertise for business. This consortium has been brought together to provide easy and direct access to an extensive range of academic and commercial expertise, and in particular to develop collaborative major intitiatives. 14/02/2006: Bristol SkillSwap - Investing in the local Digital Media CommunityBristol SkillSwap, supported by Knowledge West, is launched with a presentation on Plone. Plone is ideal as an intranet server, as a document publishing system and as a groupware tool for collaboration between separately located entities. Modelled on the highly successful Brighton SkillSwap, the newly created, Bristol SkillSwap, will hold regular free community-led and peer-presented events in order to share skills across the Digital Media community. 13/02/2006: Regional Innovation Strategy Consultation in BristolKnowledge West co-sponsored this consultation event with South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA). 27/01/2006: Managing investment uncertainty through cost modellingA discussion of how universities can collaborate more closely with businesses in raising the standard of cost modelling, management and prediction practices. 21/12/2005: Creative Partnerships - Creativity & Workplace InnovationThis event was organised by Knowledge West in conjunction with UKWON. 16/12/2005: Growth & Success through Innovation - Learning from the BestThis event was held in conjunction with TVT Business Innovation Ltd and Beacon South West, exploring how to be innovative and learn from the winning strategies of some of our fastest growing companies. 14/12/2005: Tax Relief through Research & DevelopmentThis semniar was organised by Knowledge West in conjunction with KPMG. 14/12/2005: Tax Relief through R&D (2)This seminar was run by Knowledge West in conjunction with KPMG. 12/12/2005: Revolutionising Customer ServiceKnowledge West organised this event in conjunction with the Institute of Customer Service (ICS). 05/12/2005: Non-Executive Directors SeminarKnowledge West organised this seminar in conjunction with Osborne Clarke. 21/11/2005: Business Alliances in National & Global MarketsKnowledge West organised this event in conjunction with Beacon South West. 28/10/2005: Website launched to encourage greater focus on innovationA website has been launched to help encourage innovation through networking in the South West. It is the first site of its kind bringing together tailored, useable resources specifically aimed at networks, and their members across the region. 26/10/2005: Intellectual Property & Licensing AgreementsThis seminar covered the nuts and bolts of licensing. 20/09/2005: Moore and More ChipsThe speaker audio & slides for the Friday 16th Sept. seminar ' Moore & More Chips - what are the market opportunities for the next generation of IC start-ups' are downloadable from: www.siliconsouthwest.com. The seminar is also available as a Podcast - go to i-tunes & search under 'silicon' for Silicon South West. 14/09/2005: Showcase Conference Proves that South West Biotech is Ripe for InvestmentA key conference was held this week aimed at life science, medical and biotechnology SMEs and research institutes, requiring information on commercial development. 05/08/2005: Collaborating to benefit the regionA Collaborative Flagship Initiative is designed to encourage interaction between universities and business. By bringing business and industry people together with academics it is hoped that they will be able to provide practical solutions to business problems. 05/08/2005: Knowledge West is Open for BusinessThe Universities of Bath, Bristol, Gloucestershire and the West of England, Bath Spa University College, the Royal Agricultural College and Business West have set up a consortium to enhance access to world-class knowledge for business and industry in the West of England through a range of collaborative services. Knowledge West is led by the University of the West of England, and aims to help businesses in the region tackle the issues of competing in the global economy. 05/08/2005: Network Co-ordinators' ForumKnowledge West supports a Network Co-ordinators’ Forum for business innovation networks in the region. The initiative was launched in June 2005 at an event for Network Co-ordinators. 05/08/2005: Events Programme – Innovation, Good Practice and Revolving DoorsKnowledge West has now mapped out a series of events, to run until July 2006, aimed at bringing business people and academics together. Over 20 events, run in association with member higher education institutions and business innovation networks, are planned. |
 |
Latest NewsLatest Case Studies |
 |
 |
