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25 Midlands SMEs given £1000 to tackle Innovation projects

IIPSI Project AssociatesWMG, at the University of Warwick, has launched a new “Project Associate” scheme as part of its Innovation Programme for small and medium sized businesses.

The scheme will offer 25 SMEs in the region £1000 each towards the cost of taking on a new person to work on a dedicated project over the summer, 2014.

The Innovation Programme operates out of the International Institute for Product and Service Innovation. Dr Mark Swift, Head of SME Programmes at WMG comments:

Many of the companies we are working with in the West Midlands are eager to progress with new product and service ideas, however haven’t necessarily got the time and skills to move forward. We have put aside some funds to support businesses to get access to the many talented individuals who work with WMG who can help them deliver specific product and service development projects.”

Mon 24 Mar 2014, 12:44 | Tags: SME Business Transformation Partnerships

University helps Brewery put Beer Barrels on tap – of a smartphone

Hobsons BreweryAward-winning brewer Hobsons Brewery, based in Shropshire, has collaborated with WMG at the University of Warwick to develop an innovative tracking system set to track their Beer Barrels by tapping on a smartphone.

Working with WMG’s dedicated small business team based at the International Institute for Product and Service Innovation (IIPSI), University of Warwick, Hobsons were able to solve their specific problem of finding a simple way to track casks and their contents.

The SME team at WMG helped the company bring together the right RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) tags for the barrels, a smartphone app, and a cloud database system to do the asset tracking. This solution allows for communication between different handheld devices and the ability for Hobsons staff to simply monitor barrels while on the road.

Mon 10 Mar 2014, 09:07 | Tags: SME Business Transformation

WMG launches a new Business Innovation Group (BIG)

bigblogframe.jpgWMG has launched a new initiative, the Business Innovation Group (BIG), which will act as a channel to focus WMG’s business engagement activity and support organisations who are looking to transform for success in the digital economy.

The Business Innovation Group will engage and work with a wide range of business partners, from start-ups and SMEs, through WMG’s SME Team within IIPSI, to large organisations and policymakers. BIG is led by WMG's Business Transformation research group, but will draw on its access to cutting-edge research and expertise across all of WMG’s research areas to support organisational and economic transformation. Specifically, BIG will help organisations to adapt their products, services and operations to respond to the connected digital economy as well as assist organisations to evolve and implement new business and economic models as technology continues to transform society.


Innovation rains supreme as entrepreneur reinvents the umbrella

Stephen Collier with his invention, the RainshaderAn entrepreneur whose Eureka moment came at last year’s wet and windy Grand National has reinvented the umbrella with the help of WMG at the University of Warwick.

The Rainshader protects people from the elements while watching major sporting events - crucially it doesn’t blow inside out, poke passers-by in the eye or drip on neighbours’ shoulders in crowds.

Its cut-away front, based on the design of a motor cycle helmet, lets people see the action while allowing the umbrella to sit low over the head so it doesn’t block the view of those behind.

It is specifically designed for major sporting events and other big televised gatherings, and is fully customisable in order to offer firms a significant branding opportunity.

Thu 09 May 2013, 09:10 | Tags: SME Business Transformation Partnerships

£1.2m HAT project to create a personal data repository of digital life and a home platform for future services and products

Irene NgResearch led by WMG at the University of Warwick is creating a physical personal digital repository that will record and hold data on both a person’s digital footprint and the physical patterns of their daily home life.

The repository is owned by the individual (much like money in our banks) and could be used to trade and shape future services and products to individuals.

The Research Councils UK Digital Economy Programme has given £1.2 million to a team of business researchers, economists, computing experts and arts academics from six UK universities (Warwick, Exeter, Nottingham, Cambridge, West of England and Edinburgh) to undertake the two-year study project, which will begin in June 2013.


Irene Ng on business evolution in the digital economy

a_irene_ng_13-130.jpgThe digital world will compel companies to provide us all with highly personalised services which will fit exactly with the ways in which we choose to live our lives in the future. This is the conclusion of Professor Irene Ng, Professor of Marketing and Service Systems in her new article for the University of Warwick’s Knowledge Centre.

Professor Ng, Head of Service Systems and Marketing and Director of WMG’s International Institute for Product and Service Innovation (IIPSI), has released the article on ‘Digital Darwinism’ to coincide with the release of her new book on the subject, Value & Worth: Creating New Markets in the Digital Economy.

Tue 19 Mar 2013, 15:56 | Tags: Business Transformation Service Systems Irene Ng Research

TEDxWarwick announces speakers for Building Bridges event

The final speakers for the annual TEDxWarwick event have been announced this week, completing the full programme around the theme of Building Bridges.

We are pleased to announce WMG Honorary Fellow, Rick Robinson, is one of the speakers at this year’s event. Dr Rick Robinson is Executive IT Architect at IBM, responsible for the development and delivery of their Smarter Cities solutions. Dr Robinson will speak on the subject of Smarter Stories for Better Cities – how to develop sustainable city systems, such as transportation and water, in rapidly growing economies. Cities around the world are growing at a rate of two people per second; five billion people are expected to be living in cities by 2030; astonishing developments in science and technology such as 3D printing, brain-computer interfaces and predictive analytics offer the opportunity in theory to develop new models of business and city systems that can supply, manage and exchange resources in ways that are more sustainable; and that create localised personal and community value. Dr Robinson works closely with regional and city government organisations to unravel the problems faced by this rapid population growth.

T2_lucy_hooberman-230.jpgEDx, an off-shoot of the prestigious global TED event conference, is a programme of local, self-organised events that bring people together to share their experience. TEDxWarwick is organised by a team of 26 students from the University of Warwick, and this year is being led by WMG’s Professor Lucy Hooberman, Professor of Digital Media and Innovation.

Professor Hooberman is bringing her knowledge and expertise, gained from a career within the media industry and at the BBC, to the 2013 student organisers. She describes her role as one of a ‘mentor’ to the team.

This year’s line-up of speakers also includes:

· Kate Cooper – Feeding the City, Feeding the Mind

· Tan Lai Yong – The Broken Bicycle Chain

· Stefan Bon – Nano Materials: The Science of the Small

· Andy Miah – I Scientist: The Art of Future-Gazing

· Gilean McVean – A Thousand Genomes, A Thousand Stories

· Sir Philip Craven – Paralympic Sport: Society’s Great Educator

· Fabian Oefner – When Science Meets Art

….and many more from a range of fields.

Tickets for TEDxWarwick 2013, which takes place on Saturday 9th March, are now on sale from the TEDxWarwick website: http://www.tedxwarwick.com/2013/


New market opportunities for regional SMEs

Professor Lord Bhattacharyya, today, told West Midlands SMES that developing an international product will assist in their export efforts. He joined a panel of well-known business specialists at an IoD breakfast event held at the University of Warwick.

The event, hosted by the IoD in association with the Guardian Small Business Network and Lloyds TSB Commercial, focussed on how the regions SMEs can access new markets and expand beyond the local region.

Wed 31 Oct 2012, 13:59 | Tags: SME Business Transformation Partnerships

New WMG programme offers free innovation support to West Midlands SMEs

A new innovation support programme aimed at helping small business growth has been launched by the SME team at WMG, University of Warwick. They have recently been awarded ERDF funding to offer two free days of innovation support to West Midlands SMEs, through a new Innovation Programme, which is designed to help SMEs transform existing products and services and launch new products and services that are market leading and able to adapt to changing market needs.


Digital innovation at WMG in the hands of leading academic and entrepreneur

Professor Irene NgIt has been announced todaythat leading marketing academic and entrepreneur, Professor Irene Ng, has been appointed as Director of The International Institute for Product and Service Innovation (IIPSI). IIPSI is the newest building for WMG, at the University of Warwick. It is funded by the University of Warwick and the European Regional Development Fund and will translate WMG’s innovation into commercial outcomes within small businesses. This digital innovation space will enable businesses to access the very latest cutting edge product and service design technology, leading to the creation and testing of market leading products and services.

Tue 18 Sep 2012, 10:53 | Tags: Business Transformation Service Systems Irene Ng Research

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