15-19 March: West Yorkshire Innovation Festival
Leeds University Business School is contributing to a packed programme of activities as part of the inaugural West Yorkshire Innovation Festival.
Co-ordinated by the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, and curated by partner organisations through the West Yorkshire Innovation Network, the festival aims to profile and encourage innovation-led activity, whilst showcasing the support and collaboration opportunities available to a wide range of stakeholder groups across the region.
Commenting on the Business School’s involvement in the festival, Professor Sarah Underwood, Director of External Engagement, commented:
Supporting regional productivity and developing the local workforce through initiatives like the West Yorkshire Innovation Festival are a core part of our Business School mission.
Professor Underwood continued: “We work with local businesses in many different ways to help bridge the gap between academia and industry. I’m delighted to be able to chair a session at the festival which will bring together industry and academic experts to discuss the very best in innovation.”
View the full festival programme, which includes the following contributions from the Business School:
Business and Universities working together
Tuesday 16 March, 2pm – 4.30pm GMT
The Yorkshire Universities network combine their resources to stage Innovation Now: opportunities for business and universities to work together. Bringing together expertise and opportunities from the 12 universities in West Yorkshire.
As part of the session Andrew Brown, Professor of Economics and Political Economy at Leeds University Business School, will share insights from his work around Place Based Economic Recovery (PERN) and the West Yorkshire Economic Recovery Framework. There will also be a break-out session, led by academics from the University of Leeds, exploring opportunities for collaboration and innovation with businesses within the decarbonisation of heating and cooling.
Professor Brown commented: “There are a number of key challenges facing businesses at the moment, including devolution, ‘levelling up’, Brexit and of course the impact of Covid-19. Universities can play a key role in supporting the recovery of the region’s economy and we are looking at how we can better channel our academic expertise and insight through regional collaboration.”
Register your place for Business and Universities working together.
Building your innovation dream team
Friday 19 March, 2pm – 3pm GMT
Leeds University Business School along with University of Leeds partners Nexus and GrowTech, will deliver a session exploring and sharing insights around co-design and innovation management.
Professor Tony Morgan, Associate Professor in Innovation Management Practice, and Dr Lena Jespersen, Academic Fellow in Innovation Management, are contributing to the session looking at how organisations can utilise design thinking techniques.
The session will also be chaired by Professor Sarah Underwood, Director or External Engagement for Leeds University Business School.
Register your place for Building your innovation dream team.
