Cornish Companies Meet to Innovate
Combined Universities in Cornwall press release
An inspiring forum for innovative business people in Cornwall was launched by Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC) at the Tremough Campus near Penryn on Thursday. The forum, entitled 'KnowHow', provides a new arena for like-minded professionals to share their ideas and experiences, focus on innovation and build collaborations in the county.
Around forty entrepreneurs from a broad range of sectors including engineering, manufacturing, IT, catering and aerospace attended the inaugural forum.
Speakers at the evening's event- Mike Addison, who is responsible for corporate R&D at Procter and Gamble and Rob Kinna, Innovation Mentor from Business Link Devon and Cornwall - provided valuable insights into the benefits and opportunities of innovation.
Mike's talk covered the meaning of innovation; emphasizing how it is just as relevant to the success of SMEs as to multinationals and revealed some examples of how SMEs had worked with Procter and Gamble to develop new products and ideas.
Rob Kinna also inspired delegates with advice regarding developing products and efficient processes. Rob's expertise was highlighted when he successfully pitched on the BBC television programme Dragons' Den and won investment for the Bak-Jak, a product which supports people, such as car mechanics, when carrying out tasks when leaning over their work.
Leading local businesses such as the Eden Project, Gecko Headgear and sustainable composites company, Movevirgo, also displayed some of their innovative ideas and successes to their fellow delegates.
CUC Business Development Manager, Peter Castell explained the background to the event, "Working closely with Cornwall's businesses on a daily basis, it is clear to see the huge potential for innovation, particularly if companies can be encouraged to network and explore new possibilities- even across sectors which wouldn't ordinarily meet. The 'KnowHow' innovators' forum aims to provide an opportunity for these things to happen."
After the speeches the delegates had an in-depth discussion about the forum and how it could be developed further. A unanimous verdict was reached that the meeting had been of great value and delegates encouraged CUC to arrange forums on a regular basis and to reach out to an even wider audience in the future.
The CUC Business Development Team can be contacted on 0800 7313870 for more details on future dates.
