Open Innovation meets Big Data consortium to visit European Commission

Members of the OI4 "Open Innovation Consortium" have recently decided to focus on the space where 'Open Innovation meets Big Data' .. looking at opportunities to trade data rich assets across national and company boundaries in the same spirit that Henry Chesbrough envisages for IP.

While we have found new classes of business opportunity in areas as diverse as Smart Cities, Smart Devices and Smart Supply Chains we also see challenges associated with Regulation (or lack thereof) and the perception that 'Open Data' might be interpreted as 'Free Data'.

With this in mind we are pleased to have been invited to present our thinking to The European Commission (DG CONNECT) on November 18th in Brussels.

This is most timely with a new round of Horizon 2020 projects including a special interest in Big Data coming though early in 2014

MF5 Microfluidics Consortium Launches in Holland on December 13th

The fifth annual cycle of the Microfluidics Consortium MF5 will start on December 13th in Ede in the Netherlands.

Our mission is to 'grow the market for Microfluidics enabled products and services'

We are delighted to have won Andreas Manz (grandfather of the industry!) to address the group which will also be working on 'business models' 'new materials' as well as our new industry directory (visit www.microfluidicsdirectory.com/home.html for a sneak preview).

In the coming year the consortium will visit San Diego (February), Switzerland, Cambridge (with Open Day), Boston (with Open Day) and make a study tour to China.

Tell your friends!

Inclusive Design Consortium ID2 launches Feb 6th

We are delighted to have won blue chip players from across FMCG, Packaging, Built Environment and  Electrical Goods into the 2nd cycle of the Inclusive Design for Business Advantage Consortium.

Working closely with the Engineering Design Centre at the University of Cambridge this group will work together over a 12 month period to identify how to make their products and services accessible to the ever increasing portion of the market place who have 'multiple minor disabilities' (i.e. the elderly).

Members of the consortium will also seek out opportunities to bid in the upcoming Horizon 2020 round which has a special strand dedicated to accessibility.

The consortium launches in Cambridge on February 6th with members dining together in Trinity Hall the night before to get to know each other.