CONTENTS

BRITISH INNOVATION

A springboard to global growth
Andrew Cahn, UK Trade & Investment

Innovation: the business of shaping our world
David Golding, Technology Strategy Board

Going global
Jonathan Kestenbaum, NESTA

Diversity is good for innovation
Annette Williams, UKRC for Women in SET

Promoting physics supporting physicists
Institute of Physics

The cost-saving CEO
Taylor Wessing

The BIC network
UK Trade & Investment

Innovation inspires R&D tax relief
PricewaterhouseCoopers

OPEN INNOVATION

KEY TECHNOLOGY

Addressing cross sectoral issues
Integrated Products Manufacturing KTN

Research Councils

Meeting the global challenge
Research Councils

The UK?s National Science and Innovation Campuses
Science & Technology Facilities Council

Aerospace & Defence

Enabling technology through innovative approaches
Aerospace & Defence KTN

Defence technologies for civilian applications
Ploughshare Innovations

Biometrics

Securing the future
Intellect Association for Biometrics

Biotechnology

Supporting life sciences in the capital
London First

Tackling the threat of electronic crime
Cyber Security KTN

Electronics

From invention to innovation
Electronics KTN

Grid Computing Now! KTN

Energy

A global fusion
UK Atomic Energy Authority

Design for a one planet economy
Giraffe Innovation

Managing carbon in the corporate and public sectors
Greenstone Carbon Management

Towards an energy efficient future
British Electrotechnical and Allied

Manufacturers Association (BEAMA) Home help
Energy Institute

Healthcare

Connecting people and technology
Health Technologies KTN

A centre of excellence for innovative translational research
University of Birmingham

Feeling your way to design success
NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement

University-industry collaborations
Imperial College London

Lost in translation
Pearson Matthews Innovation Consultants

Location and Timing

Location and Timing KTN
Intelligent Transport Systems

Mapping the route to intelligent transport systems deployment
Innovits KTN

Drive down fleet costs and reduce carbon emissions?
Energy Saving Trust

DRIVENet and sustainable vehicle engineering
Oxford Brookes University

Manufacturing

Breaking the mould
Manufacturing Technologies Association

University of Nottingham

An innovative history
Scott Bader

Innovation for tomorrow?s built environment
Modern Built Environment KTN

MATERIALS

Innovations in materials deliver value for money
Materials KTN

Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology in the UK
Nano KTN

Linking technology push with market pull
NanoCentral

Running the risks
European Nanotechnology Trade Alliance

Nanofabrication solutions
Kelvin Nanotechnology

Innovative science for global applications
Oxford Instruments

Leading positive change for global industry
The Centre for Process Innovation

PHOTONICS

Making light work for industry
Photonics KTN

SENSORS & INSTRUMENTS

Unlocking the potential of the UK?s sensing community
Sensors & Instruments KTN

CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE

Investing in the future
Invest Northern Ireland

Ulster innovation delivering business success
University of Ulster

Focus: Northern Ireland

Belfast ? a city of creativity and innovation
Belfast City Council

A natural centre for innovation
London Development Agency

England?s East Midlands ? an innovative region
East Midlands Development Agency

Making it in Leeds
The City of Leeds

Collaboration in wireless technologies
Wireless Centre of Industrial Collaboration

Industrial Collaboration at the University of Leeds
Engineering Design CIC

Innovations
One North East

Focus: North West of England

Connectivity, Catchment, Cost
St. Helens

Focus: South West of England

Be part of the equation
West of England Partnership

All change for Hastings
Innovation Centre Hastings

ITI Scotland

UK SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY PARKS

Raising the standards
UK Science Park Association

Special focus: collaboration
Edinburgh Science Triangle

Innovation: the key to economic growth
County Durham Development Company

Solutions across boundaries
Norwich Research Park

Partnership provides innovation success
Wolverhampton Science Park

BUSINESS SOLUTIONS

The outsourcing advantage
Business Services Association

Fast start UK
Tenon Outsourcing

Inward investment trends
HSBC

Divine intervention
British Business Angels Association

Know your rights
Intellectual Property Office

A perfect patent
Beresford & Co

Putting IP at the centre of business strategy
Cambridge Intellectual Property

USEFUL INFORMATION

Science lessons
GovNet Communications

Useful addresses

KEY TECHNOLOGY

SENSORS & INSTRUMENTATION KTN

Unlocking the
potential of the UK?s
sensing community

Sensing and instrumentation technology underpins UK business worth £120bn a year. It plays a vital role in addressing many of today?s major global challenges and the potential impact of sensing technology is far-reaching

The Sensors & Instrumentation KTN is at the heart of the UK?s sensing community, bringing together industry and researchers to stimulate innovation in the development and deployment of sensors and instrumentation. It covers the whole of the UK?s sensing community, from the principles of measurement and novel sensor technologies to instrumentation, deployment and data analysis. The KTN?s team is experienced in knowledge transfer and innovation management and has a broad range of skills and expertise in the sensing and instrumentation sector.

Brokering relationships is at the heart of the KTN?s activities. Whether a company?s needs are money, market or technology-focused, the KTN helps the organisation to make the necessary contacts.

Money

The Sensors & Instrumentation KTN provides information on what funding is available, and the application process. It also provides mentoring support by reviewing proposals. The KTN helped Sensornet ? an innovative company offering advanced asset monitoring solutions ? to win £200,000 funding through the EPSRC SBRI funding competition. The award helped Sensornet to develop its technology and attract venture capital investment.

TRW Conekt is a technology and engineering consultancy business to the automotive, defence and aerospace industries. It is participating in collaborative projects with grant funding worth several hundred thousand pounds per year from the UK Technology Strategy Board (TSB) and EU Framework programmes. ?We have recently started a new TSB funded collaborative project worth more than £50,000 in grants where our participation in the consortium is a direct result of introductions made by the Sensors & Instrumentation KTN?s Technology Translators,? says Roger Hazelden, head of TRW Conekt?s sensing group.

Markets

The Sensors & Instrumentation KTN provides roadmapping sessions to help companies work out where they are, and where they want to be. The KTN?s networking and promotional opportunities ? events, newsletter and e-alert ? provide a means for the company to get there.

Networking at the Sensors & Instrumentation KTN?s events combined with technology roadmapping led to a project on wireless sensing involving Vibro-meter UK, TRW Conekt and Coventry University. ?Without the KTN, we wouldn?t have made the contacts,? says Mark Langley, R&D Manager at Vibro-meter UK, a company producing a variety of sensors and ignition systems for aerospace and industrial gas turbine applications.

Vibro-meter UK is to present at a forthcoming KTN event. ?This is a great way of letting other members know what we do and which technologies we seek,? says Langley. The KTN ?gives us access to people and SMEs that we wouldn?t normally meet,? says James Roberts, Instrumentation R+T Capability Owner at Rolls- Royce. ?This extended network strengthens our bids for both UK and European funded work.?

Technology

The varied membership of the Sensors & Instrumentation KTN provides a large pool of expertise for companies to draw on when testing and refining their product. A number of active Special Interest Groups cover a broad range of technology and application areas, including wireless sensors, advanced instrumentation, biosensing and research facilities. ?It?s vital for us to have knowledge of, and access to, the best sensing technologies to meet our clients? requirements, and the KTN is an ideal way to keep up-to-date with sensor developments,? says Hazelden.

The KTN acts as a bridge between academia and industry. Its relationships with funding bodies and universities help businesses to secure funding for the placement of PhD students, expanding their research capabilities and making academic PhDs more relevant to industry. In 2007, the KTN awarded Michelson Diagnostics ? a healthcare company providing a live subsurface view of cancerous tissue ? a CASE Award studentship of £64,000 over three years, funding two-thirds of the cost of a PhD student.

International opportunities

Helping UK business to fully exploit international markets is a focus of the Sensors & Instrumentation KTN, and it has forged links with UKTI to coordinate its support. The KTN participates in and organises events where UK sensing companies can meet representatives of emerging markets. The KTN also promotes European funding calls and assists members with applications, with notable successes: a European consortium includes KTN members Rolls-Royce, Oxsensis and the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. This e9 million project is in its second year.

For more information on the
Sensors & Instrumentation KTN,
and to become a member
go to www.sensorsktn.com

The UK?s annual £3bn sensing market supports:

  • an instrumentation market worth £7.47bn
  • an end user market of £120bn


The Sensors & Instrumentation KTN in numbers (2007):

  • 1,733 members
  • £12.7m funding successfully secured for members
  • 1,100 new people have attended more than 40 events
  • 171 company visits