Welcome to the summer edition of our newsletter featuring updates on work completed with clients, the return of our Innovation for Business Conference, pop-up innovation centre and University of Plymouth news.
Innovation for Business Conference bounces back
Cornwall’s innovation event of the year is back. The Innovation For Business Conference welcomed key note speakers, cutting-edge researchers and innovative business leaders to join together to highlight the importance of making the change for tomorrow. Taking place at The Alverton, 28 June, around 100 Cornish businesses gathered to hear from a series of influential people to discuss all things innovation.
The conference kicked off with renowned keynote speaker Melissa Sterry. She opened the proceedings with an inspirational talk on bio-futurism, the connection and reconnection of nature in the design of everyday human life. From growing furniture to bioluminescent chandeliers to reducing waste through compostable clothing Melissa captured the audience’s imagination and opened their eyes and minds to futures possible both in Cornwall and beyond.
Lead Mentor at the British Design Fund Adam Sutcliffe then delivered an energetic and relatable workshop on Design Thinking; the process of generating, filtering and improving ideas before making them a reality. With a focus on removing ego and prejudice from the design process Adam enlightened The Great Hall on how to create and design more consistently and successfully.
With 83% of delegates stating the event exceeded expectations, Innovation For Business bounced back with a bang following a three year hiatus after the inaugural conference at Scorrier House in 2019.
Harper’s Health case study
Harper’s Health made contact with ATI2 at the start-up stage of the business, knowing full well there was a lot of work to do to bring their idea of a healthy vegan tempeh snack range, Tempiii, to life and to market.
“It’s initially very daunting and isolating to start your own business” said Alice Harper, founder & director of Harpers Health.
She discovered tempeh while in Bali and immediately fell in love with the product; a fermented soybean which contains more protein, vitamins and fibre than tofu. It also made her wonder why it wasn’t more widely available back home in the UK. Noticing a potential gap in the market on a gap year, she set out to bring tempeh and Tempiii to the UK herself.
“ATI2 helped so much by putting me in touch with the right people, like a packaging supplier with a low-carbon footprint, as well as setting deadlines and keeping me accountable for meeting them” she explained.
Alice also received mentorship support, regular contact and strategy meetings, a product photoshoot and was put in touch with Access to Finance, Oxford Innovation Food & Drink and SWMAS.
With the support of ATI2 and hard work of Alice she is almost ready to launch Tempiii with its first range of flavours: Soy, Fajita and Tandoori.
“Without ATI2 I wouldn’t have heard of these schemes, it’s opened a lot of doors and accelerated me months ahead of what I could achieve on my own.” said Alice.
Launceston welcomes back the Pop-Up Innovation Centre
The latest Pop-up Innovation Centre has opened in the centre of Launceston to provide a dedicated space for business innovation support.
Located on 12 Southgate Street, the Pop-up Innovation Centre offers companies in the area the chance to utilise office facilities, meeting and events rooms, hot desks and access business support with innovation accredited advisors.
Mayor of Launceston Town Council, Leighton Penhale, officially opened the centre and welcomed the programme into the town at the launch event on the 7th June.
The centre is accessible to individuals from small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who need facilities to support their business and is open until Friday 26th August 2022.
University of Plymouth professor receives prestigious award for environmental toxicology research
A University of Plymouth academic has received a prestigious award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to environmental toxicology.
Awadwesh Jha, Professor in Genetic Toxicology and Ecotoxicology, has been selected to receive the Jim Parry Award from the UK Environmental Mutagenesis Society (UKEMS). The biennial award was established in 2011 in honour of a pioneer in the field of genetic toxicology, with the winners chosen by the Society’s Committee.
Professor Jha, who heads the University’s Environmental and Applied Biology Research Group, is a leading expert on assessing the impacts of chemicals, radiation and other stressors on the environment.
His research involves the assessment of genetic damage induced by environmental stressors on biological systems.
He has developed many novel methods to assess the hazards and risks posed by man-made pollutants, particularly on aquatic organisms, and his work also promotes developments of alternative methods to reduce the use of live fish for biological studies.
Professor Jha’s work has been funded by the European Union, government bodies, industry, charities and other organisations and has been highly valued by industry and regulatory bodies.
Upcoming events
Innovation surgery: Competing to Stay Relevant in a Busy World. 09:30 15 September Pool Innovation Centre.
Innovation surgery: Design Thinking. 09:30 22 September Pool Innovation Centre.