Latest news from Loughborough University
| 19 March 2007 | PR 07/35 |
Loughborough Innovation Centre celebrates four years of helping early stage businesses on the path to success
Tuesday 27 March sees Loughborough Innovation Centre host a special showcase event to mark four successful years of nurturing high growth, early stage companies.
One of the region’s largest and most successful high tech business incubators, Loughborough Innovation Centre is ideally located in the heart of Loughborough University’s thriving research environment. The 4000m2 facility offers serviced labs and offices, reception and meeting room facilities and a wealth of on site business expertise to 38 innovative young companies.
Coffee and registration starts at 1.45pm and Loughborough University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Shirley Pearce, will open the showcase event at 2pm and guests will be able to tour the premises of the following tenant companies:
Cunnington Clarke will demonstrate its novel 3-D Building Design Tool that allows people to walk-through buildings virtually, enabling rapid design modifications from the user’s perspective. The system has been used to help design some of the UK’s best-known large stores.
Intelligent Energy will demonstrate its ground-breaking hydrogen fuel cell technologies. The world’s first fuel cell motorbike, the ENV, will be on display as will be other applications of this exciting, non-polluting technology.
Iskra will demonstrate its award-winning wind turbine and a full-length turbine blade will be on display and its scientists will be available to explain the steps and costs involved in establishing domestic and small commercial-scale electricity generation from the wind.
iTableMedia will debut its revolutionary interactive
ambient media
channel, the iTable. Consumers will be able to sit around the table, watch
moving images on the LCD screen, receive live internet feeds, navigate
limited web pages, upload music via Bluetooth technology, and also purchase
goods through the table itself.
Magna Parva will demonstrate its paddle-shift conversion for sequential gear-boxes, soon to be used by a Danish racer at the 24hour Nurburgring Race. This innovative system is one a range of products and services the company delivers to the high performance sectors of Space, Motorsport, Automotive and Machinery.
Progressive Sports Technologies will demonstrate many prototypes and marketed products developed exclusively for the world’s leading sports and fitness brands. Visitors can try out the prototype Abdominal Trainer; Reebok Deck, the most versatile exercise platform on the market, and Respivest, an innovative garment for training breathing muscles.
Nemaura Pharma will showcase its leading edge drug delivery systems that utilise micro and nano systems technology which will lead to improved bio-availability, more uniform drug plasma levels, reduced dosing frequencies, and also the targeted delivery of toxic therapeutics.
Co-founding director of Progressive Sports Technologies and Loughborough University engineer, Mike Caine, will deliver a fascinating personal insight into how a small innovation company can work with the world’s biggest sporting goods brands. Bryan Allen of Know-How Computer Systems will demonstrate state of the art interactive white-boards and voting tablets, demonstrating their use in a variety of environments.
Guests will have the opportunity to network over refreshments and view exhibitions by Loughborough Innovation Centre tenants and Leicestershire’s high tech organisations from the LATI network. The Centre’s onsite business support organisations will also be on hand to offer advice to early stage companies and those thinking of starting a new venture. Connect Midlands staff will be available to discuss their Investment Readiness Programme designed to help early stage to high growth businesses seeking between £15k and £3.5M make themselves more attractive to investors.
“The success of a business incubator lies in the success of its tenants and we have attracted many talented young companies developing leading edge technologies spanning a breadth of industry sectors,” says Centre Manager Tim Bacon. He continues, “The past four years of successful business incubation bodes very well for the exciting expansion of the Loughborough Science Park. We look forward to welcoming prospective tenants, colleagues from Loughborough University and the region’s universities, high tech companies and the many supporters who have helped make Loughborough Innovation Centre such a success.”
This public event is free of charge but guests must register in advance by contacting Rosemary Parke (Telephone 01509 228890, Email r.parke@lboro.ac.uk).
ENDS
For all media enquiries contact:
- Anna Seddon, Loughborough University Enterprise Office,
T: 01509 223445, E: A.J.Seddon@lboro.ac.uk - Hannah Baldwin, Head of PR, Loughborough University,
T: 01509 222239, E: H.E.Baldwin@lboro.ac.uk
Notes to editors
About Loughborough Innovation Centre
http://www.loughborough-innovation.com
Part of the East Midlands Incubation Network, Loughborough Innovation
Centre opened in September 2002, following a successful £0.75m funding
bid to the DTI. A fundraising campaign also generated £75,000 of
generous donations from local businesses and private donors. Further emda
funding of £0.825m has enabled more expansion in 2004 and the facility
has been fully occupied for nine month
About Loughborough University
Loughborough has an established reputation for excellence in teaching
and research, strong links with industry, and unrivalled sporting achievement.
Assessments of teaching quality by the Quality Assurance Agency place
it in the top flight of UK universities; the National Student Survey ranked
Loughborough in the top five among full-time students; and industry highlights
the University in its top five for graduate recruitment. Around 40% of
Loughborough’s income is for research, and 60% for teaching. The
University has been awarded five Queen's Anniversary Prizes: for its collaboration
with aerospace and automotive companies such as BAE Systems, Ford and
Rolls Royce; for its work in developing countries; for pioneering research
in optical engineering; for its world-leading role in sports research,
education and development; and for its outstanding work in evaluating
and helping to develop social policy-related programmes.