On Monday 4th December, Warwick joined forces with Stratford Business Forum to attend 2017’s South Warwickshire at Parliament day and celebrate our relationship with business in the local area, as well as demonstrate the potential of the new Innovation Campus at Wellesbourne.

The annual event is at the invitation of Nadhim Zahawi, the MP for Stratford-upon-Avon, and allows organisations and businesses of all sizes from South Warwickshire to showcase the region’s unique skills and opportunities at the Houses of Parliament. Over 160 guests attended the event, including MPs and representatives from the House of Lords as well as guests from the participating organisations.

This year, Warwick shared the vision for our new Innovation Campus at Wellesbourne, an initiative which epitomises Warwick’s commitment to entrepreneurship, innovation and collaboration. Professor Simon Swain, the University’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor for External Engagement, addressed the audience to highlight the Campus’s potential as a leading innovation hub, which will ensure the University has an important role as an anchor institution in South Warwickshire, as well as contributing to the economic growth in Coventry and Warwickshire and the wider West Midlands. The other guest speaker was Andy Palmer, CEO of Aston Martin, who are based at Gaydon.

Representing Warwick at the Houses of Parliament were WMG, Warwick Conferences and several of our business partners including AES, BI System Builders, Lyra Electronics, PetShopBowl and Silson, who illustrated the range and diversity of innovation in South Warwickshire businesses.

Professor Simon Swain, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for External Engagement at the University of Warwick, said, “This event was a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate our position as an anchor institution in South Warwickshire and our commitment to working with local businesses great and small. We were extremely pleased to be able to support the event in showcasing the array of skills, talent and businesses that we have in the area, and we look forward to playing a major role with businesses in South Warwickshire and the wider region as we move our plans for our new Innovation Campus at Wellesbourne from concept to reality.”

To find out more about the new Innovation Campus at Wellesbourne, visit warwick.ac.uk/business/wellesbourne.