On Wednesday 1 March, this month's regular chamber breakfast moves to Wolverhampton to unite with another networking group to give you the chance to make new contacts. The Wolverhampton Business Breakfast Club meets from 7am to 8.45am on the first Wednesday of each month at the Goldthorn Hotel and Leisure Club, Penn Road, Wolverhampton.
Cost: Chamber PassPort Free - £10 + VAT per Chamber member & £20 + VAT for non members
123insight offer a unique award-winning MRP/ERP system for any type or size of manufacturing.
On Wednesday 1 March, Wolverhampton Business Solutions Centre, 123insight are hosting a free evaluation workshop which tells you everything you need to know about the software and the unique way that 123insight do business.
The event is designed to help you understand whether the award-winning software is a good fit for your business. Whether you are new to MRP and want to understand more about it, or if you are looking to replace an existing system, the 123insight evaluation workshop will give you all the information you need in an informal environment.
The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) at Ansty Park, alongside Coventry City Council and technology communications agency React Communications, announced the launch of Nucleus Expo West Midlands – a new science, technology and engineering themed event comprising thought-provoking presentations, participative networking opportunities and exhibitor showcases.
During Global Entrepreneurship Week, Nucleus Expo West Midlands will highlight the region’s talent for leadership when it comes to engineering and manufacturing excellence, whilst showcasing how it is attracting companies in a variety of other innovative fields. Participation at all levels from start-ups and university spin-outs to multinationals is encouraged.
Clive Hickman, CEO of the MTC, said: “Our role is to inspire great British manufacturing on the global stage, developing innovative processes and technologies in partnership with industry, academia and other institutions. That’s why we are perfectly positioned to host the first ever Nucleus Expo for our region and look forward to welcoming all to MTC.”
Cllr Jim O’Boyle, Coventry City Council’s Cabinet Member for Jobs and Regeneration, added: “I‘m really looking forward to seeing Coventry host another major event. The Nucleus Expo West Midlands will showcase both our city and the region as a whole to a host of people from across all areas of the tech world.
“It’s a great opportunity to highlight the number of companies that are moving in to the area due to all of the benefits of running a business in the region, including our existing skills base and all of the fantastic upcoming talent we have.”
Layla Stacy, Managing Director of event organiser React Communications commented: “We know that bringing together like-minded people from across the industrial and academic spectrums helps to fuel innovation and economic advances. We fully expect that Nucleus Expo West Midlands 2016 will play a big part in creating vital connections and cementing the region’s networks for future success.”
Sponsorship opportunities and exhibition spaces are available for some of the Midlands’ most innovative companies. Quite unusually, exhibitor space is free but will be allocated via an application process. Interested companies should email info@nucleusexpo.co.uk and explain in up to 500 words why their product or service should be showcased.
On Thursday 2 March, Aston University will be hosting this event as part of the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce Growth through people campaign.
In attendance will be representatives from Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce Growth member businesses and leaders that have worked closely with the Aston Centre for Growth. These programmes aim to provide high-quality, practical education and business support to leaders small businesses and social enterprises.
This will be an opportunity to discuss ideas and best practice with peers.
On Tuesday 7th March, The Black Country Chamber of Commerce are holding a general meeting regarding the resolution to change the articles, which was not put through at the AGM in December 2016.
Please note, the relevant papers have been distributed via post to all Chamber members, and they can also be accessed by clicking on the links below:
On Tuesday 7 March, this organised by TheBusinessDesk.com, is an opportunity to question four mayoral candidates on issues affecting the West Midlands business community and the region’s economy.
Each candidate will be invited to address the audience for a maximum of five minutes, then TheBusinessDesk.com editor, Alex Turner, will chair a panel discussion before opening questions out to the audience. To finish, the candidates will have two minutes each for a closing statement.
The confirmed speakers are:
James Burn (Green Party)
Peter Durnell (UK Independence Party)
Beverley Nielsen (Liberal Democrats)
Andy Street (Conservative Party)
It is a great opportunity to get to know each candidate, quiz them about their plans for the region and make up your mind about which one to vote for in the forthcoming Mayoral elections.
Early booking is advised and refreshments are provided. Those who book a place but can no longer attend are kindly asked to let the organisers know, so other delegates wishing to attend do not miss out.
This free event, organised by TheBusinessDesk.com is an opportunity to question four mayoral candidates on issues affecting the West Midlands business community and the region’s economy.
On Tuesday 7 March, this event is an opportunity to introduce yourself to other chamber members, to hear from local businesses and build up your contacts in a social environment.
The event will give an insight into the workings of a craft brewery and some history about the Backyard Brewhouse. You will be taken through to the brewhouse where you will be guided through the entire brewing process from raw materials and planning to the finished product in glass.
Chamber PassPort Free - £10 + VAT per Chamber member & £20 + VAT for non members
On Wednesday 7 March the Sandwell Business Solutions Centre will be hosting business innovation workshops on three specific topics by leading academics from Aston University and Birmingham City University.
The workshops are funded by the European Regional Development Fund and therefore free to the participating company. On completion of the sessions, delegates will receive a prestigious “Managing Innovation in Business” certificate.
Strategy and leadership for innovation
This workshop is designed to help SMEs build their strategic leadership capacity and enhance the cultural and structural effectiveness of their organisation for innovation.
The workshop is designed around 3 pillars:
Pillar 1: Generating ideas, identifying and exploiting opportunities Pillar 2: Formulating an appropriate strategic position and business model Pillar 3: Setting up organisational mechanisms and culture that support innovation
General Information
It is advised that companies attend each workshop just once.
All business innovation workshops start 9:30am and finish at 5pm. Lunch and refreshments are provided.
Venue: Sandwell Business Solutions Centre, Sandwell College, 1 Spon Lane, West Bromwich, B70 6AW
On Wednesday 8 March, come and celebrate International Women's Day and Natwest Access to Business, Sweda at the Ramada Park Hall Hotel.
Attend their informal event where they will discuss and celebrate actions taking place to truly drive the greatest change for women.
The 2017 focus is "BE BOLD FOR CHANGE" and below is a taster of what you can expect on the day
An informative panel discussion delving into this year’s IWD theme "BEBOLDFORCHANGE"
Angela Bir - Owner of Ramada Park Hall Hotel
Juile Wall - Keynote speaker, Trainer & Coach 3degrees Social
Neelam Meethcha - U.K based entrepreneur and an acclaimed expert within the creative gift wrapping and paper craft industry
Sarah Ellen - Owner of Sarah Ellen Designs
With more exciting guest panellists to be confirmed
The agenda for the event is -
10:00 - Arrive and registration
10:30 - Weclome from Natwest business banking, Access to Business & Sweda
On Wednesday 8 March, the Black Country Chamber of Commerce and the Black Country Growth Hub are hosting the 2017 budget briefing.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, has announced that the government will publish its next spring budget on Wednesday 8 March 2017. The spring budget sets out the government’s plans for the economy based on the latest forecasts from the office for budget responsibility. This will be the last budget to take place in the spring.
As announced at the autumn statement, following the spring budget, budgets will be delivered in the Autumn. Delegates from a range of business sectors will watch the Chancellor's budget live and afterwards hear immediate reaction from a panel of industry leaders and professional services specialists and take part in the panel discussion. A chance to listen to the budget away from your busy offices and discuss with your peers.
Think Sandwell and Sandwell College, in collaboration with NatWest, are pleased to announce the latest Get Connected in Sandwell event. This time it's dedicated to manufacturing and engineering professionals.
On Thursday 9 March, at this breakfast event at Sandwell College's Central Sixth you can find out how research and development can help your business to grow, and how you may be able to access relevant support through the government's Innovation Vouchers scheme.
You will have the opportunity to have a look at the fantastic resources available at the Fab Lab in West Bromwich.
Agenda
7.30am Registration & Breakfast
8.00am Welcome to Sandwell College Networking Club
8.10am Philip Calcutt - Communications Manager at A&M EDM Ltd
8.30am Anne Scrimshaw - Introduction to Fab Lab - Business Club Offer
On Thursday 9 March ,BMet, City of Wolverhampton College and Walsall College breakfast networking at Wolverhampton Wanderers' WV1 restaurant this March, celebrate the launch of University of Wolverhampton's new suite of apprenticeship courses. High profile guest speaker, Sir Clive Ronald Woodward OBE, a former English rugby union player and coach will be attending.
A new Degree apprenticeship will be launched at a University of Wolverhampton breakfast event during apprenticeship week at the Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club.
The University of Wolverhampton is working with local employers and local further education colleges to introduce a new four year Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship in September.
On Thursday 9 March, as part of the larger Midlands engine trade summit, the Black Country Chambers of Commerce are running a discussion and networking session at the summit.
This Chambers exclusive event will offer guests the opportunity to hear from the newly appointed Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, Dr Adam Marshall, on the issues of "trading locally, trading globally". Based in Westminster, Dr Marshall has a real insight into the thinking and policy-making of Government and, most importantly, interprets such policy making from a business-perspective.
Lord Bridges of Headley MBE in his role as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for exiting the European Union will be joining this interactive session.
The event will be informal and a great opportunity to meet and network with strategic and corporate clients from across the whole of the Midlands.
The Midlands Chambers of Commerce comprises six Chambers of Commerce in the West Midlands and three in the East Midlands. West Midlands Chambers alone represent a membership of some ten thousand businesses.
The BCU CMDA programme is a 3 year work based learning programme, offering flexible delivery of learning and assessment through the use of blended learning to employer’s apprentices. We welcome both levy and non-levy employers and are committed to providing high quality support throughout the apprenticeship.
Benefits to the Apprentice
1) Achieve a BA(Hons ) Degree in Business Management, while working
2) Achieve Charted Manager status (CMgr)
3) Achieve the Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship.
Benefits to Employers
1) An efficient investment of your apprenticeship levy with apprentices develop learning and research skills that are relevant to your business.
2) Provides a professional career pathway for apprentices, upskilling your workforce
3) Access to learning and resources from a leading innovative Business Schools and our wider community.
A full agenda will be sent to registered delegates.
Venue: Birmingham City University, The Curzon Building, 5 Cardigan Street, Birmingham, B4 7BD
On Tuesday 14 March, Complete lean solutions in conjunction with The West Midlands Manufacturing Club, have the opportunity to host a second workshop.
This course aims to support businesses with either starting or improving their lean journey. Whatever the sector or size of business if implemented correctly Lean will dramatically reduce costs as well increase productivity. This in turn will help drive local business growth and in turn improve the local economy by increasing opportunities for employment
Want to grow your manufacturing business but not sure on the next steps to take?
Come and speak with your local dedicated Manufacturing Growth Manager, Helen Fortune on Wednesday 15th March to find out how.
You will have the opportunity to discuss your specific business needs, find out how the Manufacturing Growth Programme can support you and the next steps you may want to take on the road to sustainable growth.
*For SME Manufacturing businesses only.
Once booked, someone will be in contact with you directly to organise your hourly slot.
Venue: Black Country Growth Hub, Development Centre, Glaisher Drive, University of Wolverhampton Science Park, Wolverhampton, WV10 9RT
Small to Medium size businesses (SME’s) have the opportunity to participate in one-to-one reviews with a business solutions advisor to discuss innovation support and funding available through the University of Wolverhampton.
As a business, Great British Expo’s Ltd is celebrating our 5th birthday next year as well. Over the past 4yrs its attracted:
• 1140 exhibitors
• 9700 businesses attending our expo’s across the UK
The reputation as being the UK’s leading provider of SME regional business expo’s.
Passionate about supporting regional business growth and development. This expo could define your business’ future, we have assembled a world class array of business minds all under one roof to equip and empower your business in 2017.
Register for this event and you will find the new ideas, inspiration, motivation, network, contacts and skills that you need to take your business to it’s next level.
Don't miss this. Ensure that you are one of the 900+ Businesses that will attending the region’s largest business event this year.
WHY YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO MISS THIS EVENT (What’s Happening):
• Britain’s most influential business names - Our Keynote Speakers! We have a proud reputation of brining business’s most influential names to our regional expo’s. Our keynote speakers are the UK’s leading business influencers, through their business acumen and extensive experience you will be empowered with the renewed guidance and ambition to take your business to its next level of growth.
• Have Breakfast with over 150 other business owners. The pre-Expo breakfast is a great way to start the day off. You arrive at the venue on the day of the Expo between 7.30am -9.00am, have breakfast, network and be motivated by the keynote address from a leading UK business personality. You then are all ready for the grand opening of the expo and you will be one of the first to get your delegate bag with promotional offers worth £100+.
• Meet The Expert - Industry Leading Workshops. All our workshops have been designed to address issues that affect your business. Not only have our Workshops been created to be an interesting, interactive and enjoyable way of gaining practical hands-on experience, they are also a way of picking up the knowledge that your company may be lacking.
• Meet 40 new clients in 30 Minutes- Serious Speed Networking. Meet 40 new contacts in 30 minutes. Speed networking is the quickest and most effective way for you to add potential suppliers, partners or clients to your contact list. Historically all of our networking sessions are always completely packed out throughout the day.
• 1-2-1 ZONE. This year we have created a 1-2-1 Zone in which you can hold a private meeting with either a possible new contact, supplier or partner that you may have met during your networking sessions.
• Wonder Woman Business Panel - Success Secrets (What made them succeed?). This panel of eminent female business leaders / entrepreneurs will share the secrets to the phenomenal success they have achieved along with the mistakes that they have made along the way. This is a fantastic Q&A opportunity for you to ask questions and gain the advice and information need for a business to succeed today. The panel is made up of various female business leaders (CEO’s, Managing Directors and Serial Entrepreneurs) from different sectors across the UK, so you can be confident that you will receive the best advice with the very latest information critical for the success of your business.
• 101 Business Matters. This year we are introducing several 101 business matter booths. These small booths will be set up with various experts from the UK that will be able to assist you in the challenges any business owner faces during the day to day running of the company. Whether it be accountancy, hr, marketing, cash flow, funding or simply business development challenges there will be an expert available and ready to talk to you about your business needs and offer practical advice.
• Supporting Charity. The ethos behind our business is giving back, that is why we ensure that the event is called business and community. To date we have given £24,000 towards local charities and want to continue to increase this in 2017.
Passion is supporting regional business growth and development.
Venue: Birmingham City Football Club, Cattell Road, Birmingham, B9 4RL
Small to Medium size businesses (SME’s) have the opportunity to participate in one-to-one reviews with a business solutions advisor to discuss innovation support and funding available through the University of Wolverhampton.
Drive Midlands is holding a series of events themed around vehicle electrification. On Thursday 16March, you are invited to the first one: a free-to-attend a morning event focusing on the financial, technical and practical support available to businesses interested in this developing market.
Most vehicle manufacturers have an electric vehicle programme – and it’s not just passenger cars but also commercial vehicles and motorcycles.
This market revolution will bring challenges and opportunities for the automotive supply chain in the Midlands.
This event will give you the chance to hear from lead figures in industry and academia on product and market directions of travel.
The second part of the morning will focus on developing actions for supply chain companies to progress either technically and/or towards volume manufacture.
Small to Medium size businesses (SME’s) have the opportunity to participate in one-to-one reviews with a business solutions advisor to discuss innovation support and funding available through the University of Wolverhampton.
On Friday 17 March, the Chamber are holding a consultation event and would like to encourage businesses to come along and take part.
Black Country Chamber of Commerce are calling for a comprehensive regional economic development strategy and have identified key areas that need to be addressed. This includes a greater share of capital investment in the Midlands, a focus on the future of intelligent manufacturing, investment in infrastructure development and support to develop skills.
On Friday 17 March you are invited to an event to help to grow your business.
Innovation is key to helping us through the challenging times and strengthen our economy. The Growth Hub is seeing more and more businesses create innovative ideas to bring about change and improve the way we live and do business. What does innovation mean for your business?
If you’re a business based in the Black Country and are looking for any of the following, this is for you!
Expertise and support to grow your business
Do you have a new product/service but don’t know how to get this to market?
Funding for your new product/service
Do you have an innovative idea, but need access to funding to help realise your dream?
Advice on developing your new idea and routes to market
Do you have a new idea but don’t know where to start?
Featuring special guest, Paralympic double gold medallist Danielle Brown MBE. You will also hear from keynote speaker Paul Sloane, an expert in innovation who will be sharing practical techniques to improve innovation and hear how Laura Gabbidon, Head of Marketing at Wolverhampton Wanderers FC has used innovation to maximise ticket sales.
This is a great opportunity to:
Learn how to become more innovative and discover how innovation can help your business
Learn how to develop a business strategy, finance your business, and how to take the first steps towards becoming your own boss. On Friday 17 March , this interactive and productive workshop will be led by Steve Parker a local business leader who runs some successful companies of his own.
Business starts here is a service within Dudley Library that can direct you towards the free support, information and facilities that can help turn your idea into a fully-fledged business.
This service was awarded with the FSB 'highly commended best small business friendly programme or campaign'.
Unfortunately this event has been cancelled! But if you would like to have your say about the future vision for Sandwell please email the Facing the Future Team about having a telephone discussion. Or call us at Think Sandwell on 0121 569 2121 facingthefuture_team@sandwell.gov.uk.
On Monday 20 March you are invited to a breakfast café conversation where you will have the opportunity to influence how the Vision 2030 will work for every business in Sandwell.
Over a complimentary cooked breakfast, you will get to meet with key decision makers within the council and discuss Vision 2030 which sets out where Sandwell is heading up to 2030.
The overriding message of Vision 2030 is closer partnership working between all sectors in Sandwell. For this to happen collaboration, co-production, planning and strategy have to be at the core of this vision.
Vision 2030 sets out a number of key ambitions such as:
By 2030 Sandwell host industries of the future and will have boosted companies to grow.
By 2030 Sandwell will have significant numbers of new homes built along key transport routes and there will be some major new employment sites.
By 2030 Sandwell have a national reputation for getting things done, focussing on what really matters in people’s lives and their wider community
By 2030 Sandwell’s young people will have better skills and working people will have developed new skills – giving Sandwell a workforce geared up to respond to changes in business needs and the economy.
On Tuesday 21 March you are invited to an event at Wolverhampton Business Solutions Centre where you will learn more about construction accreditations such as CHAS, Construction Line, Safe Contractor and Achilles.
Managing health and safety in the workplace can sometimes feel like a minefield of rules and regulations. Sometimes to grow your business you are being asked to have certain accreditations in place and you will need to evidence health and safety and environmental documentation.
NatWest Mentor understands that businesses often need support in key areas that are important to them.
It’s your duty as an employer to make your workplace safe, protecting your employees and business interests.
You are invited to this event where we will be answering some key questions for you on how you can effectively gain these accreditations and what you need to have in place.
Did you know, by 2020, there’ll be a shortfall of 200,000 qualified engineers in the UK?
In response to this, the University of Wolverhampton, have invested £10 million in advanced new engineering facilities and courses at our Telford Innovation Campus, in turn, strengthening the region’s engineering infrastructure.
To celebrate its grand opening, if you are a manufacturer based in the West Midlands, join us at our Manufacturing Conference on Wednesday 22 March 2017 to:
Hear from top executives from well-known manufacturers based in the region, including keynote speaker, Dr Clive Hickman from the Manufacturing Technology Centre.
Participate in topical workshops that tackle the top issues within the sector; globalisation, innovation in the supply chain, research & development (R&D) and the skills gap. Guest speakers include Graham Jones from Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) who will discuss the topic of research & development and David Danger from UTC Aerospace who will add business context and direction to the discussion of globalisation.
Network with manufacturing industry professionals from across the region and beyond.
The event will also include an Expo of manufacturing support services, education and innovation for industry and a complimentary networking lunch for all delegates.
This is a MUST ATTEND event for manufacturers in the West Midlands region. Places are limited so book now to avoid disappointment.
On Wednesday 22 March, the Department for International Trade team based in Worcestershire is holding a free one to one export in Wyre Forest to help local companies to grow in international markets.
Why export?
Research shows that businesses that sell overseas become 34% more productive in their first year, whilst those already selling overseas achieve 59% faster productivity growth than non-exporters.
Why attend?
• Find out more about exporting and the benefits it can bring to your business
• Speak to a team of International Trade Advisors and receive advice on how to export, or how to increase your export sales
• Discover how to maximise DIT’s global network of embassies and consulates to increase your market knowledge, presence and sales
• Learn about the services and support which are available from the government to help you to export
Africa is increasingly proving a real opportunity for British Businesses. Over the past year many West Midlands businesses have secured export orders there and it has vast potential…
Six out of ten of the World’s fastest growing economies are African
In the next 40 years half of the world’s population increase will come from Africa
Africa’s consumer facing industries are expected to grow by more than £260 billion by 2020
‘Brand Britain’ is held in high regard throughout the continent and products from the UK are considered symbols of quality, tradition and style. British companies are in a unique position to tap into this market.
Meet The Experts Meet with market specialists in a series of roundtable discussions to learn about export opportunities in the following 6 dynamic markets. Our specialist International Trade Advisers will also be available to offer export guidance and advice.
Nigeria - James Houston, UK Chairman, Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce
Ghana - Tony Burkland, CEO, British Chamber of Commerce, Ghana
Egypt - Iman al Sherif and Karin van Wesep, Egyptian British Chamber of Commerce
Morocco - Karim Benhaddou, Deputy General Manager, British Chamber of Commerce for Morocco
Kenya - Farida Abbas, CEO, British Chamber of Commerce, Kenya
Uganda - Willy Mutenza, Chair, Uganda UK Convention
Programme
09:00 - 09:30: Registration
09:30 - 09:40: Welcome and Introduction: Mark Sankey, Head of International Trade Team, Birmingham
09:40 - 10:40: 6 minute market appetisers from our 6 market specialists and Q&A
10:40 - 11:00: Coffee Break
11:00 - 13:00: Round table market discussions market specialists above and pre-booked 1:1s with Gerti Willis, Culture and Communications Adviser and Anne Locket from UK Export Finance
13:00 - 14:00: Networking Lunch
14:00 - 15:00: Round table market discussions market specialists above and pre-booked 1:1s with Gerti Willis, Culture and Communications Adviser and Anne Locket from UK Export Finance
Hosted by West Bromwich Albion Football Club the winning formula of the Baggies Breakfast meeting continues with an interesting speaker and chance to network. The event includes a Breakfast Roll and finishes in time to join the Black Country Chamber Showcase in the Richardson Suite to network with over 150 local companies.
This month guest speaker is Scott-James Eley, HS2 Supply Chain Manager – College, Innovation & Culture. Scott will provide an update on HS2’s vision is to be a catalyst for growth across Britain and how companies can get ready to take part in what will be Europe’s largest construction programme.
He will share what, when and how HS2 Ltd will be conducting procurement in categories such as Design, Enabling works, Civil engineering and Stations. Scott will brief us about HS2’s strategic themes and culture and how they will be reflected in our assessment of suppliers and what HS2 Ltd is doing to support the supply chain to get ready for HS2.
The HS2 project has already established a list of engagement successes and is collaborating with more than 5,000 businesses who can bring innovation, create jobs, improve skills and drive growth.
Venue: West Bromwich Albion FC, The Hawthorns, West Bromwich B71 4LF
On Friday 24 March, the Chamber will be hosting a showcase and network event at West Bromwich Albion Football Club.
This will enable you to visit each of the exhibiting standholders and learn more about their respective businesses. There will also be the chance to introduce yourself to your fellow delegates, with your personal delegate list ensuring that you are able to exchange details with important new business contacts.
If you want to put a face to a name on the delegates’ sheet ask one of the Black Country Chamber membership team and who will be happy to help. If you need support or ideas visit the chamber stand and check you are making the most of your Chamber membership.
Please note, attendance is free for both members and non-members , so come along and make connections with the wider business community. Just remember to bring your business cards on the day for distribution.
All delegates will receive a voucher for tea or coffee.
Join the social media campaign by following @BCCCmembers and #BCCCEvents
Sponsorship is available for this event, please call 01902 912305 for further information.
Is your firm fit and ready to supply one of the biggest construction projects in Europe? On Monday 27 March Black Country firms are invited by Sandwell Council to attend a valuable breakfast workshop and learn how they could tap into multi-million pound engineering works opportunities aligned to the construction of the iconic London to Birmingham high-speed rail project.
LM JV recently won the contract to kickstart the enabling works on the Curzon Street station to Birmingham interchange section of the linear route. For this massive rail transportation project LM and its top-tier contractors will need a high-quality pool of material and component suppliers, civil engineering, subcontract and support services.
Over a complimentary cooked breakfast, you will get the opportunity to meet with senior procurement, category managers and supply chain leads from LM. You will learn about the supply chain opportunities and the essential advanced construction skills, such as BIM, that they look for in their suppliers - plus the approvals required by prospective lower-tier suppliers and sub-contractors.
Delegates will also get a preview of the CompeteFor Business Ready programme, a valuable initiative for SMEs to help improve their work-winning skills and demonstrate to clients that they’re a performance-driven supplier.
Attendees will get to learn about LM’s supply chain strategy and hear about the masterplan for the regeneration of Curzon Street and East Side Business district of the city.
Attending this workshop will allow you to:
* Meet procurement / supply chain experts from leading contractor LM JV and learn what it looks for from top suppliers
* Gain a valuable insight into business opportunities within LM’s supply chain
* Hear about expert support for the West Midlands supply chain including the Business Ready programme to improve work-winning skills
* Network over a complimentary cooked breakfast with likeminded professionals looking to develop their supply performance and improve their business credentials.
The session will give you a ‘route’ to working for this huge project, and therefore is a must-attend event for business owners, directors and business development professionals. It's also free.
Where: Sandwell Council House, Council Chambers, Freeth Street, Oldbury B69 3DB
When: Monday 27 March 2017, 7am to 10am-ish (registration starts from 6:45am)
How: To register to attend, email Sandwell Council’s Steve Massey via stephen_massey@sandwell.gov.uk and be sure to mention if you require a one-to-one meeting with LM’s buyers.
Employers are required for Careers Speed Networking event on 27 March 2017 at Q3 Academy Wilderness Lane, Great Barr, Sandwell B43 7SD
On Monday 27 March, the Q3 Academies Trust is hosting a careers speed networking event to raise aspirations and employability skills, by showcasing as many occupations as possible to Year 9 students.The primary goal is to raise awareness of the skills, qualifications and potential routes into different careers.
The event will run as follows:
8.00am - Employers register/breakfast/opportunity for networking
8.30am - Presentations
9.00am - Employers set up
9.20am - Speed networking commences
11.30am - Optional slot (panel Q & A)
11.45am - Mr Mark Arnull, Head of School, closes event
12.00pm - VIP lunch for all Employers
Presentations from: Dr Caroline Badyal - Chief Executive, Q3 Academies Trust
Mr Corin Crane - Chief Executive, Black Country Chamber of Commerce
Mr Matt McCormack - ACE Director, Q3 Academy Great Barr
Do It Digital is an independent, not-for-profit signposting and celebrating resources that help small businesses become more digitally active!
Greater digital engagement strengthens small businesses, and no matter what level of digital confidence you have – Do It Digital can point towards the most appropriate next steps.
The second “100 Days Of Digital” amplifies opportunities, both online and offline, for small businesses to access help, advice, support and inspiration for becoming more digitally confident and competent.
From April 2017 HMRC will commence the rollout of Making Tax Digital, which will result in quarterly digital reporting to HMRC. Find out about the changes in tax reporting and accounting that will be affecting almost all businesses within the next 3 years and what you can do to ensure that you and your business are prepared.
During the workshop Shohaib Shafiq from Integrity Accountancy Services will talk about how businesses can use these changes as an opportunity to improve the internal systems cost effectively and increase their profitability. Shohaib will help you to understand what is available to companies now, and how digital accounting systems can make record keeping easier and really empower the business owner with real time management information at their fingertips.
Shohaib will give you tips on how the use of digital and cloud accounting solutions can help you save time, money and enable you to reduce your tax liability.
Michelle Ovens MBE will be speaking at this great free event about the first steps into digital. Michelle is a small business enterprise specialist and is Director of Do It Digital, the campaign promoting digital engagement among small businesses.
Over 60% of small businesses with 5 employees or less are not digitally engaged, but even a business that struggles to find the time for digital can benefit from using just a bit here and there. Discover how your business can take the first steps into digital and make the most of what is on offer. At this event Michelle will show how, with just a little bit of investigation, a host of new opportunities can be realised.
Michelle will take you through the steps of knowing where to go to get a website, through the basics of social media, trading platforms, digital accountancy and beyond.
How digital has changed the world and how it will change your business 14:00 – 14:30
The Do It Digital Roadshow is coming to Birmingham! Join Dave from Handle on the bus for a free, informative workshop on how digital is changing the world and your small business:
“90% of the world’s data was created in the last 2 years.
As massive data companies and analytics platforms start to make the data that exists about every single one of us useable, the impact it’s having is profound.
The digital revolution is here and the information that exists about you and your business is being used by the people most important to you. Your customers, prospects, suppliers, lenders and financiers are all using information to make decisions about you and your business.
In this session, we explore what the new digital era means for your business, how you can focus on what actually matters and confidently adjust your approach and adapt your business for digital success.”
On Tuesday 28 March, the University of Birmingham will be hosting a business club breakfast briefing.
This briefing will discuss language in business, whether you are an advertising agency or a business interested in brand management or would like to explore how best to use language to promote your business.
Research has shown that the use of metaphor in advertising enhances brand recognition, recall and emotional attachment to the product. It is for these reasons that Esso famously invited consumers to ‘put a tiger in the tank’, and for their subsequent advertisements to feature a photograph of a tiger in the wild.In their study they found that the amount, type and positioning of metaphor in billboards, magazine adverts and internet videos affects the appeal of the advertisements in different ways. They have also found that consumers from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds appreciate metaphor in different ways. The breakfast club would like to discuss their findings and explore ways in which they can help companies to produce creative yet culturally appropriate campaigns.
The event will be led by:
Dr Paula Pérez-Sobrino - Marie Curie Fellow - Exploring Multimodal Metaphor in Advertising (EMMA 658079) project
Professor Jeannette Littlemore, Professor of English Language and Applied Linguistics
Dr David Houghton, Lecturer in Marketing
If you are interested in attending event , click here to register
On Tuesday 28 March you are invited to an event about the health of your business and staff.
The way we live and work has a profound effect on our health and that of those around us.
Businesses have great influence over the lives of their staff and customers and as such have a crucial role to play in encouraging people to make healthier choices.
Improving health and wellbeing is good for business; it can reduce sickness costs, improve productivity and can help generate jobs and growth.
As the public become increasingly health conscious, offering healthier products can increase market share.
Healthier employees are happier employees and employee happiness is intrinsically linked to productivity and revenue.
This event brings together colleagues from local businesses and across the council to discuss how to work together and explore opportunities to:-
Best support and assist local businesses to maintain a healthier workforce and work place
Work with local businesses to ensure their products and services help support better health outcomes
To reserve your place for the event or to receive further information please contact Nick Laws on 0121 569 5159 nick_laws@sandwell.gov.uk
On Wednesday 28 March, the Black Country Chamber of Commerce will be hosting information sessions.
These sessions are for chamber members, and are delivered exclusively by chamber members to help you to tap into the vast amount of knowledge and insight that chamber members can share.
In spring 2017 the way the government funds apprenticeships in England is changing. Some employers will be required to contribute to a new apprenticeship levy, and there will be changes to the funding for apprenticeship training for all employers. Gareth Jones Managing Director of In-Comm Training & Business Services based in Aldridge can give advice and guidance on how the apprenticeship levy will work as well as explaining the principles that apprenticeship funding will operate on from 1 May 2017, whether your company is liable to pay the apprentice levy or not. Test how to make the levy work for you and how you might be able to get more involved in your sector via the trailblazer initiative.
Cost: Free to passport holders - £10 + VAT for Chamber members and £20 + VAT non-members
On Wednesday 29 March The Black Country Chamber of Commerce and NatWest have partnered to deliver a Start-Up Marketplace event.
The event has been specially designed for newly registered companies or companies within the first 2 years of trading.
It will offer support to help boost your business and take it to the next level.
Go along and talk to the experts about your business and any questions you may have.
This will be an informative marketplace with companies exhibiting and covering specialist areas such as
Business Banking, Funding options for growth, Card payment facilities, Fully Funded Training,
Social Media & LinkedIn, Apprentices & Recruiting, Office Space and Admin Support, Legal
Contracts, Branding, and Marketing, Website Sales, Tax and Accounting, and IT support.
On Thursday 29 March, Aston University Research and Enterprise office is holding an exhibition and networking event featuring a poster competition and showcase of our Innovate UK sponsored knowledge transfer partnerships and collaborative research and development projects.
The event is an opportunity to find out more about knowledge transfer partnerships and collaborative research and development projects and to discover how engaging with a University could benefit your company. It is also an opportunity to find out about the variety of projects that Aston is currently involved with and how we are working in partnership with local and national companies for mutual benefit.
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships is a UK-wide programme enabling businesses to improve their competitiveness, productivity and performance by accessing the knowledge and expertise available within UK Universities. Knowledge Transfer Partnerships can make a huge impact on the businesses involved. Innovate UK collaborative research and development projects are established to solve specific technical or societal challenges. These are industry-led projects, typically involving a consortium of industrial and academic partners.
All current projects will display a poster and prizes will be awarded for the best posters by the Vice Chancellor, Professor Alec Cameron. There will also be a display of some recently completed projects and their impact as well as planned future projects. The event will be an opportunity to network with some of Aston's world class academics, representatives from business and the teams who are working on the projects.
Agile in the City: Birmingham is a practical agile development conference that allows participants to connect and learn from their peers and leaders in the industry.
The conference has a strong practical focus and attracts industry practitioners and decision-makers who want to improve their success with agile and lean methods.
The event provides two days of inspiring agile and lean learning from a dynamic mix of stimulating keynotes and practitioners working on the front line of the industry.
Keynotes
We’re excited to announce our keynote speakers for Agile in the City: Birmingham: Jenni Jepsen, Kate Gray & Chris Young.
Partner at goAgile
Jenni Jepsen is a partner at goAgile, a Denmark-based Agile consulting firm, where her focus in on helping people deliver value faster and create lasting change.
By getting to the core of WHY Agile works and helping people thrive through change, organisations become Agile – increasing motivation, effectiveness and transparency.
Jenni has extensive experience in change leadership and communications, and integrates NeuroLeadership concepts into her coaching, training and sparring with leaders at every level. She consults and speaks worldwide about leadership, teams, and how to make Agile work.
Investment Advisor
Kate began her career in US national politics. Since that time, her professional experience has focused on business strategy and growth, along with marketing, brand and communications strategy drawing on the fundamentals she learned in Washington, DC.
She has consulted with and held board-level roles at global and national businesses, worked with investors across their portfolios, and spent time at start-ups and early stage companies. Her sector experience includes technology, pharmaceutical, media, luxury travel, FMCG and omni-channel retail.
She’s currently working on an enterprise agile transformation programme at a major financial services company. Free time is spent mentoring start-ups in a number of sectors and women interested in working in tech.
Chief Technology Officer
Chris has been leading engineering teams since 1999. He was pivotal in the BBC’s adoption of Agile in 2000-2001. Since then he has worked for broadcasters and platform owners including Dish Network in the US and Deutsche Telekom in Europe.
He led the development team for the YouView Set Top Box User Interface and headed up engineering for YouTube’s largest Content Network outside the US. He is now CTO of Honeycomb TV Ltd.
He is an active member of the Lean/Agile/DevOps community speaking at Meet Ups and conferences across Europe including GOTO Berlin, Agile Cambridge, CukeUp and QCon.
Please note that if you are an Innovation Birmingham Campus Member you can get 15% off the ticket price, contact Keerti for the discount code on keertir@innovationbham.com.
Venue: The Studio Birmingham, 7 Cannon Street, Birmingham,B2 5EP
STEAMlab is a free, two-day workshop designed to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), micro businesses, and sole traders to develop new ideas. The workshop will explore a real live challenge around perceptions, encouraging explorations on the potential uses of arts, creativity and digital technologies.
The two-day, intensive workshop will give you the opportunity to address and negotiate different challenges in a supportive, experimental learning environment. The workshop will help you look at new ways of researching and developing innovative solutions to new ideas, new business or artistic products, and services.
To take part, you will need to email your interest, detailing a proposed product / concept. A panel will then select the projects based upon the published criteria, and will be looking for a balance of the most inspiring projects that can be tested with an interdisciplinary team of participants each with their own expertise, knowledge, skills and experience.
To be eligible for our free workshop, you must meet the following criteria:
Seeking to be innovative and willing to share ideas
Must be available during the published workshop dates
Be considered as a business / enterprise – sole trader, micro business, SME (employing fewer than 250 people)
Based within the GBS LEP area (Birmingham, Solihull, North Worcestershire and South Staffordshire)
Be a business with an annual turnover of less than €50 million or a balance sheet total of less than €43 million
Operate in at least one of the following sectors – arts and creative industries, health and life sciences, advanced manufacturing, low carbon (specific sector requirements are detailed in each programme call)
Supporting projects that focus on building learning and knowledge with the skills and technologies of the future. There is a thematic focus based on growth areas of low carbon, health and life sciences, advanced manufacturing, and creative and digital.
The workshop will be broken down into the following:
Day One
Work collectively to tackle a real world, active challenge set by Meridian Technologies UK. Through doing this you will be introduced to a number of collaborative, iterative strategies which draw on open innovation and design thinking methodologies.
Learn about application methods of emotional intelligence for business use.
Learn about intellectual property (IP) models.
Day Two
Building on techniques introduced during Day One, you will present your product, concept or challenge to the group and receive facilitated critical analysis and feedback as we work collaboratively to find new ideas and find solutions.
By the end of day two you will have refined your initial idea and will develop and present a new pitch for your concept.
There is no fee or payment required for participation in the workshops (the workshop is equivalent to £2,384 worth of business support. Lunch and refreshments will be provided.
How you will benefit:
Explore and develop your concepts, products and services
Learn about open innovation, or design thinking methodologies and how you can exploit this for your business needs
Support from industry experts, academics, creative and technologists
Research collaborations with academics
Network and build relationships
Financial assistance to prototype products and services within STEAMhouse
Access to STEAMhouse facilities (from autumn 2017)
Proposals should be ambitious and original, but realistic and possible to achieve. Proposals will be reviewed by a panel comprising of workshop leaders, representatives from Birmingham City University and the STEAMHouse teams. We will respond to all applications Monday 20 March.
STEAMlab is part of STEAMhouse Phase 1, a creative innovation centre in Digbeth with the aim of brokering collaborative relationships between businesses, academics, arts and creative industries. The centre will demonstrate how arts and creativity can be combined with STEAM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) to drive innovation, skills, research and economic growth. It will provide support to SMEs and new enterprises from the GBSLEP region of Birmingham, Solihull, North Worcester and South Staffordshire to develop new products and services through workshops, grants and research cooperations with academic from the university.
STEAMhouse is a partnership between Birmingham City University and Eastside Projects, supported by the European Regional Development Funding (ERDF) and Arts Council England Creative Local Growth Fund.
On Thursday 30 March, the Black Country Chamber of Commerce are hosting a practical workshop for exporters aimed at all key people involved in handling letters of credit, ie: export sales, project teams, export managers, administrators, finance teams, shipping and customer services.
Are you receiving letters of credit from customers in new or challenging markets?
Do you find the Letter of Credit process cumbersome, time consuming and expensive?
The training will ultimately help exporting companies to reduce bank charges, save time and increase profit margins. Delegates will receive training delivered in a highly interactive, practical and engaging format delivered by an experienced practitioner in letters of credit and the workshop will include a range of recent examples of Letters of Credit with a focus on how to avoid the common pitfalls.
Members of Black Country Chamber of Commerce can attend the workshops at a reduced rate.
As a Chamber member you could receive 50% discount on your mandatory certification of export documentation. All delegates receive detailed course notes and copies of the presentation slides. Delegates are welcome to seek further advice & information from the trainers after the workshops are completed.
Cost: £200 + VAT for Chamber members and £250 + VAT non-members
On Wednesday 30 March, The business growth show is hosting a National growth exhibition and conference.
The event is designed as a platform for businesses to spring from: through quality business suppliers, networking with up to a thousand business owners, decision makers locally and the region. The show is chance for you to gain advice from the experts and learning from keynote speakers and informative workshops and seminars. Being non-industry specific show, businesses from all backgrounds find new, inventive ways to help their business grow. Discover new suppliers, reduce costs and gain industry knowledge from expert exhibitors and speakers. Meet new business contacts through open networking and speed networking. Whether it be insight into a prospective venture or hints to improve your current strategies the expert exhibitors and speakers are on-hand to help.
What to expect ?
Keynote Speakers
The keynote speakers are hand-picked for their expertise, experience and notability. They all have something to offer and share with the audience. Speakers include Andy Street, Conservatives choice for Lord Mayor of Birmingham. Google, Ben Kench Best Selling Author 'Selling for Dummies', Rebecca Jeffery, BBC1's The Apprentice.
Exhibition hall
The exhibition hall has up to 100 expert exhibitor suppliers to choose from. Each exhibitor offers visitors the opportunity to find new suppliers to help them grow. We aim to have two exhibitors where possible giving you the choice to pick the right expert for your business.
Seminars & workshops
The show runs two workshops designed to help businesses understand how to grow through marketing and the essentials needed to run a business today. They have the creative workshops which are driven towards sales and marketing seminars and informative which are surrounding topics which are imperative to running a growing business.Pitch your business for fundingThey have brought together some of the UK’s largest and smallest lenders from the traditional to new you will be able to gain advice on how to get funded. As well as pitch your business idea in front of your peers and the expert panel to gain their advice. This section will help to be fully aware of pitfalls faced in honest feedback.
Women in business discussion and debate – Hosted by Headzup Business
Headz Up Business, will be hosting a special session at ‘The Business Growth Show’ for Women in Business and business professionals dedicated to issues surrounding changing roles of women, work, encouraging entrepreneurship and business growth. There will be expert panel of businesses sharing their experiences and helping you grow
Speed networking The show will host the famous Sergeant Major speed networking throughout the day. These sessions are fast and you will need your cards ready and move on time.
Networking cafe The networking cafe is situated at the heart of the show allowing visitors to catch up with each over a coffee or light bite to eat. The area is great place network and gain new contacts.
Business connections wall Visitors can use the business connections wall to post their details on a board highlighting what business support they are looking for and what support they can offer each other. The board is sectioned off into five key areas; sales & marketing, professional services, HR & recruitment, hospitality & events and construction and engineering. You will be able to attach your business card to a sheet asking other businesses to connect with by connecting their business card to your notice sheet.
Business advice clinics Gain over 100 hours of free business advice by booking a one to one with their business advisors. Advisors will offer a 15 minute session for businesses to seat with an expert and ask them questions on issues affecting their business. Advice clinics cover legal, hr, marketing, sales, technology and much more
Twitter board Social media has become a massive part of the show and everyone loves to see their name in lights. We will be using #BGSUK #GOGROWTH on the day where businesses tweets will be retweeted by the media team for visitors and the outside world to see what’s going on in the show.
Facebook live
They will be running a number of sessions throughout the show on Facebook and conducting interviews and testimonials as well as capturing the live feeds from the show.
Please note that the show is a trade only event, no under 18s or students will be allowed into the event. Any visitors found selling to exhibitors or to other visitors will be required to leave. The organiser reserves the right to refuse entry or to insist that any visitor leaves the exhibition for any reason.
Headz Up Business, will be hosting a special session at ‘The Business Growth Show’ for women in business and business professionals dedicated to issues surrounding changing roles of women, work, encouraging entrepreneurship and business growth. Remember to bring plenty of business cards, the session will include host connecting and networking, attendees to start building relationships with, local, regional and national businesses.
What to expect:
Panel of women speakers : Come, meet and connect with key business influencers and learn insights to help and support your business.
Opportunities to connect and network with over 100 women decision makers, business professionals, corporates , educational organisations and entrepreneurs.
Hear from Gerard Grech, CEO of Tech City UK about the findings from Tech Nation 2017: the most comprehensive report of the UK digital sector to date.
The event will celebrate the growth of digital tech across the UK over the past 12 months. It will also delve into themes uncovered by the report to discuss the opportunities and challenges for the future.
Following the Tech Nation presentation, Gerard Grech will chair a short panel discussion with local tech entrepreneurs.
Agenda:
5:30pm – Registration, networking and refreshments
6:00pm – Welcome by Dr David Hardman MBE, CEO of Innovation Birmingham
6:10pm – Tech Nation presentation from Gerard Grech, CEO of Tech City UK
6:45pm – Panel discussion
7:00pm – Q&A
7:15pm – Further networking, refreshments and pizza
8:00pm – Close
Agile in the City: Birmingham is a practical agile development conference that allows participants to connect and learn from their peers and leaders in the industry.
The conference has a strong practical focus and attracts industry practitioners and decision-makers who want to improve their success with agile and lean methods.
The event provides two days of inspiring agile and lean learning from a dynamic mix of stimulating keynotes and practitioners working on the front line of the industry.
Keynotes
We’re excited to announce our keynote speakers for Agile in the City: Birmingham: Jenni Jepsen, Kate Gray & Chris Young.
Partner at goAgile
Jenni Jepsen is a partner at goAgile, a Denmark-based Agile consulting firm, where her focus in on helping people deliver value faster and create lasting change.
By getting to the core of WHY Agile works and helping people thrive through change, organisations become Agile – increasing motivation, effectiveness and transparency.
Jenni has extensive experience in change leadership and communications, and integrates NeuroLeadership concepts into her coaching, training and sparring with leaders at every level. She consults and speaks worldwide about leadership, teams, and how to make Agile work.
Investment Advisor
Kate began her career in US national politics. Since that time, her professional experience has focused on business strategy and growth, along with marketing, brand and communications strategy drawing on the fundamentals she learned in Washington, DC.
She has consulted with and held board-level roles at global and national businesses, worked with investors across their portfolios, and spent time at start-ups and early stage companies. Her sector experience includes technology, pharmaceutical, media, luxury travel, FMCG and omni-channel retail.
She’s currently working on an enterprise agile transformation programme at a major financial services company. Free time is spent mentoring start-ups in a number of sectors and women interested in working in tech.
Chief Technology Officer
Chris has been leading engineering teams since 1999. He was pivotal in the BBC’s adoption of Agile in 2000-2001. Since then he has worked for broadcasters and platform owners including Dish Network in the US and Deutsche Telekom in Europe.
He led the development team for the YouView Set Top Box User Interface and headed up engineering for YouTube’s largest Content Network outside the US. He is now CTO of Honeycomb TV Ltd.
He is an active member of the Lean/Agile/DevOps community speaking at Meet Ups and conferences across Europe including GOTO Berlin, Agile Cambridge, CukeUp and QCon.
Please note that if you are an Innovation Birmingham Campus Member you can get 15% off the ticket price, contact Keerti for the discount code on keertir@innovationbham.com.
Venue: The Studio Birmingham, 7 Cannon Street, Birmingham,B2 5EP
STEAMlab is a free, two-day workshop designed to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), micro businesses, and sole traders to develop new ideas. The workshop will explore a real live challenge around perceptions, encouraging explorations on the potential uses of arts, creativity and digital technologies.
The two-day, intensive workshop will give you the opportunity to address and negotiate different challenges in a supportive, experimental learning environment. The workshop will help you look at new ways of researching and developing innovative solutions to new ideas, new business or artistic products, and services.
To take part, you will need to email your interest, detailing a proposed product / concept. A panel will then select the projects based upon the published criteria, and will be looking for a balance of the most inspiring projects that can be tested with an interdisciplinary team of participants each with their own expertise, knowledge, skills and experience.
To be eligible for our free workshop, you must meet the following criteria:
Seeking to be innovative and willing to share ideas
Must be available during the published workshop dates
Be considered as a business / enterprise – sole trader, micro business, SME (employing fewer than 250 people)
Based within the GBS LEP area (Birmingham, Solihull, North Worcestershire and South Staffordshire)
Be a business with an annual turnover of less than €50 million or a balance sheet total of less than €43 million
Operate in at least one of the following sectors – arts and creative industries, health and life sciences, advanced manufacturing, low carbon (specific sector requirements are detailed in each programme call)
Supporting projects that focus on building learning and knowledge with the skills and technologies of the future. There is a thematic focus based on growth areas of low carbon, health and life sciences, advanced manufacturing, and creative and digital.
The workshop will be broken down into the following:
Day One
Work collectively to tackle a real world, active challenge set by Meridian Technologies UK. Through doing this you will be introduced to a number of collaborative, iterative strategies which draw on open innovation and design thinking methodologies.
Learn about application methods of emotional intelligence for business use.
Learn about intellectual property (IP) models.
Day Two
Building on techniques introduced during Day One, you will present your product, concept or challenge to the group and receive facilitated critical analysis and feedback as we work collaboratively to find new ideas and find solutions.
By the end of day two you will have refined your initial idea and will develop and present a new pitch for your concept.
There is no fee or payment required for participation in the workshops (the workshop is equivalent to £2,384 worth of business support. Lunch and refreshments will be provided.
How you will benefit:
Explore and develop your concepts, products and services
Learn about open innovation, or design thinking methodologies and how you can exploit this for your business needs
Support from industry experts, academics, creative and technologists
Research collaborations with academics
Network and build relationships
Financial assistance to prototype products and services within STEAMhouse
Access to STEAMhouse facilities (from autumn 2017)
Proposals should be ambitious and original, but realistic and possible to achieve. Proposals will be reviewed by a panel comprising of workshop leaders, representatives from Birmingham City University and the STEAMHouse teams. We will respond to all applications Monday 20 March.
STEAMlab is part of STEAMhouse Phase 1, a creative innovation centre in Digbeth with the aim of brokering collaborative relationships between businesses, academics, arts and creative industries. The centre will demonstrate how arts and creativity can be combined with STEAM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) to drive innovation, skills, research and economic growth. It will provide support to SMEs and new enterprises from the GBSLEP region of Birmingham, Solihull, North Worcester and South Staffordshire to develop new products and services through workshops, grants and research cooperations with academic from the university.
STEAMhouse is a partnership between Birmingham City University and Eastside Projects, supported by the European Regional Development Funding (ERDF) and Arts Council England Creative Local Growth Fund.
