Cumbria SMEs bid for innovation lift-off

AN event has been organised by the National Nuclear Laboratory and The University of Manchester to help SMEs in Cumbria make a commercial success of innovative technology.

The NNL’s Innovus Programme is funded by the Regional Growth Fund and Britain’s Energy Coast in partnership with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

The Opportunities for Innovation in the Nuclear Industry event takes place on June 23 at The Rheged Centre in Penrith.

Fourteen new jobs have already been created as a result of the Innovus programme and a further 200 are forecast.

Innovus, the technology commercialisation programme run by NNL and The University of Manchester’s Dalton Nuclear Institute, has received well above 200 inventions and with new funding coming on stream in June, investment in research and development by Cumbrian businesses working with Innovus will exceed £2m.

Barry Lennox of The University of Manchester’s Dalton Nuclear Institute and Professor of Applied Control in the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering said:, “The Innovus events focus minds and draw out the ideas.

“This one really plays to the strengths of the area, but it won’t be a surprise if it leads to technology transfer to and from other sectors – it’s about creativity and inspiration.”

NNL’s Adrian Davis-Johnston, manager of the Innovus programme said: “Cumbria already has some of the most innovative businesses working with robotics, remote engineering and sensor technology and Innovus has been able to help many of these already. It’s vital for the UK and for Cumbrian businesses that we continue to look for new challenges and apply our innovative solutions to them.”