Latest updates and opportunities from the Connected Innovation team
We have come to the end of another busy couple of months across August and September, with the Connected Innovation team supporting a number of events across Norfolk and Suffolk and the UK.
The highlight has been the Innovate Local: East of England event at Norwich Research Park on the 12th September. The Connected Innovation team supported Innovate UK to deliver an agenda showcasing inspiring business innovation journeys and support and finance available to help innovative businesses. The event was a huge success, with over 200 attendees from across the region.
We relaunched our Innovation Prospectus at the event with updates from across our network of 27 Innovation Hubs – Connected-Innovation-Prospectus_July-24_DIGITAL.pdf (connectedinnovation.co.uk)
August saw the continued delivery of ‘The Future’ programme across Norfolk and Suffolk. This programme, which is being delivered by Akcela in Norwich and Innovation Labs Group in Suffolk, is supporting early stage local tech startups and has secured funding through Barclays Eagle Labs Ecosystem Partnership Programme and supported by both Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils, alongside Connected Innovation.
The Connected Innovation Finance and Investment Subgroup met in early September and looked at how we can continue to signpost businesses to the relevant support and areas that need addressing.
We rounded off the month by launching the final round of the Agri-Tech and Food-Tech Launchpad which went live on Monday 23rd September. More details can be found here –
As with the previous rounds, businesses in Norfolk and Suffolk can also make use of the free to access Innovation Grant Mentoring Project, providing free bid writing support for Innovate UK applications.
The Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult has launched a new ‘Connect’ programme supporting supply chain innovation across Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex’ offshore renewables sector. Expressions of interest are open to 31st October: East of England Connect – Expression of Interest (office.com)
What is coming up
‘The Future’ programme will continue to deliver events, workspace and start-up support, with further activity being planned for the autumn.
Connected Innovation is supporting Menta to organise the launch of the West Suffolk Business Festival on the 30th September with colleagues from Space East and NAAME.
October and November will see the Connected Innovation team supporting a number of other events including the Innovate UK Regional Investment Showcase (IRIS), Agri-Tech Week 2024 and the REAP Conference, Sync the City and supporting a delegation of companies attending Slush 2024.
Stay Updated
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