New innovation hub will help Highland construction and manufacturing businesses build on success
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Construction and manufacturing companies in the Highlands and Islands are being invited to tap into some online expertise to help them work smarter.
The Make It Smart Hub, which will launch at a webinar at 2pm on Wednesday, November 11, is designed to stimulate innovation across the region.
The a collaborative initiative is led by Construction Scotland Innovation Centre (CSIC) and Inverness College UHI, with support from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE). The DataLab, Scotland's data and AI innovation Centre, and Censis, the centre of excellence for sensing, imaging and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, will support the hub.
Signing up to the online portal will allow north businesses the opportunity to learn about, apply and share new technologies, processes and skills, that improve productivity and drive inclusive growth.
They will be able to connect collaboratively with new partners in new markets, learn about the latest innovations or new products and services, and get involved.
They can also find out about training courses for their workforce, attend webinar events and access virtual demonstrations of new technologies.
Building on its success in innovation, CSIC will support new projects for companies in the region to develop new products and processes or enter new markets. Inverness College UHI will also provide companies with access to academic, research, business and training expertise.
The partnership between Inverness College UHI and CSIC will also enable additional opportunities for businesses to collaborate and exchange knowledge.
CSIC innovation manager Andrew Nurse said: “The hub gives companies access to the latest innovation, helping them to work collaboratively to capitalise on local and national business opportunities. They will have the opportunity to explore innovation, to access free learning resources and advanced equipment and to be matched with solution providers to meet their challenges.
"By signing up to the hub on its website they can access everything the initiative has to offer and be kept up-to-date with new resources and rich programme of activity that is planned over the next few years.”
Georgina Parker, director of external relations at Inverness College UHI, said: “Inverness College UHI is delighted to be working in partnership with CSIC to share this important resource with SMEs in the Highlands and Islands, providing support for the sector as it looks to grow, develop and innovate during these challenges times. This platform will help make specialist equipment, technical expertise, training research and development support, more accessible to companies in this region.”
Anyone logging on to the launch webinar on November 11 will learn more about the hub and about how Inverness College UHI and HIE can support innovation. Designer Clare Campbell of Prickly Thistle Scotland and Matt Stevenson of ECOSystems Technologies Limited will also speak of the opportunities for manufacturing and construction companies in the region.
Steven Hutcheon, HIE’s acting regional head of technology and innovation, said: “Innovation is fundamental to business growth and diversification. It is also absolutely essential in Scotland’s economic recovery in manufacturing. This project will help businesses in the area explore and deploy new technologies and processes speeding up adoption and increasing productivity. We look forward to working with partners to realise the benefits across the region.”
The Make It Smart Hub is one of 12 projects being funded by the European Regional Development Fund and Scottish Government through the Advancing Manufacturing Challenge Fund managed by Scottish Enterprise. Interested businesses cansign up to the webinar here .
