05 May 2010
Interface showcase its client companies at the 2010 Knowledge Transfer Policy and Practice Conference

Interface showcased some of its client companies at the recent Heriot Watt 2010 Knowledge Transfer Conference, demonstrating how it can help companies develop its business by working with academia.

Now in its third year, the "Knowledge Transfer Scotland: Policy and Practice" Conference brought to together early career researchers from across Scotland with research managers, KT practitioners, policy makers and research funders to discuss challenges and opportunities that arise from KT.

The conference covered all disciplines to engage with the KT agenda, under the four themes of ‘health', ‘wealth', ‘environment' and ‘culture'.

Key note speakers included:

• Mr Laurence Howells - Senior Director, Research & Knowledge Exchange, Scottish Funding Council;
• Mr Paul Lewis - MD Industries, Research & Policy, Scottish Enterprise;
• Dr Graeme Reid - Deputy Director, Economic Impact, Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, UK Government and;
• Prof Ian Diamond - Chief Executive, Economic and Social Research Council;
• All facilitated by broadcaster Quentin Cooper of BBC Radio 4.

This years conference offered an enlarged exhibition area where Interface showcased some of their client companies and Dr Siobhan Jordan spoke at one of the workshop sessions on "Open Innovation".

OPEN INNOVATION SESSION:

In this session Interface showcases two examples of companies with which it has been working to access academic expertise to help develop innovative products and processes. We hear from one multi-national company - Proctor & Gamble - about their approach to Open Innovation in a process they call "Connect and Develop". Our guest speaker explains why large companies are embracing Open Innovation, how it works in practice, and the benefits different partners can gain from it. Being ‘open to innovation' in a small company is explored through a presentation from local SME , Cooper Software Ltd which has developed innovative products through a collaboration facilitated by Interface with the University of the West of Scotland. The initial challenge that was faced, the search for academic partners for a software usability test, and the longer term engagement which developed from the initial study are all described,. Will innovating become core to companies in the future, and how can smaller companies engage both with larger companies and the university sector through models of Open Innovation?

INTERFACE EXHIBITION:

• Seeking Simplicity Ltd required engineering expertise to develop a working prototype of their bottle breaker, designed to increase the number of bottles that fit into a bottle bank thereby reducing the number of trips required to empty them.
• Robop Ltd wanted expertise in bird behaviour in order to make technical changes to their innovative robotic birds positioning and movement, and ultimately the effectiveness of the product.
• Sysnet Ltd Sysnet are developing a number of new products including using a digital pen and paper system for real time tracking of the movement of football players and a P2P (Peer to Peer) framework for mobile handsets with a tool kit to enable third parties to develop their own applications.
• LUX Assure and LUX DS are divisions of LUX Innovate Ltd.
  LUX Assure develops chemical monitoring technologies for the oil and gas sector. One technology in development is CoMicTM, a novel approach to ensure effective oilfield corrosion management. They are in the process of seeking academic expertise to better understand the renewable energy market and the potential uses of CoMicTM for non-oilfield applications.
  LUX DS is developing new and revolutionary applications for the assessment of caries (tooth decay) and erosion (acid wear). They sought academic expertise to support the development of a new tool for dental diagnostics, which incorporates an imaging system.
• Cooper Software Ltd Cooper Software undertook software usability testing which was used to evaluate the reliability, suitability and efficiency which formed a critical element of their product development.

Download this document: KT conference programme (1.66 MB)