LCR’s first Innovation Investment Week to highlight huge opportunities, while inspiring future innovators
World leading innovation, billions of pounds of opportunities and inspiring the next generation of innovators will be highlighted during Liverpool City Region’s first ever Innovation Investment Week.
Dozens of children will help usher in the week on Monday, May 13, at the unveiling of a new primary school book to inspire 6 to 8-year-olds into science and innovation.
The event heralds four days of innovation-themed activity including a local launch of the city region’s new Life Sciences Investment Zone, a Dragons’ Den style pitching event, a pharma industry conference and the city region’s third Innovation Investment Summit.
Evening events include a Pint of Science – which features talks by more than 40 academics from the University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) and Liverpool School of Tropical Science (LSTM) at pubs in the city centre and Wirral. On Tuesday, University of Liverpool Professor Matt Rosseinsky – recipient of last year’s Eni Award which is often described as the Nobel Prize of energy research – will address a special audience at the Materials Innovation Factory.
Experts from around the world will gather for the day-long Innovation Investment Summit at LJMU’s Student Life building on Thursday, May 16
Liverpool City Region has more than £725m of live innovation projects with a further £1.9bn in development. The Life Sciences Investment Zone, which started operating in April, is expected to attract an extra £800m of public and private sector investment and is in addition to Astra Zeneca’s £450m investment in its Speke facility announced in March.
Innovation Investment Week events include:
Since the first Innovation Investment Summit in 2022, Liverpool City Region has spearheaded a series of landmark initiatives including publication of the city region’s first ever Innovation Prospectus and piloting Innovate UK’s national Launchpad grant programme – reflecting the region’s highly developed place-based innovation approach.
Liverpool City Region has agreed the country’s first place-based partnership and action plan with Innovate UK and in 2023 a landmark innovation deal was signed with South Korea’s second city, Busan, as part of a major government UK-South Korea innovation twinning programme.
The city region has also become one of only three places in the UK to benefit from both Investment Zone and Freeport status.
The Investment Zone will help the city region towards its innovation powerhouse goal of spending 5% of its economy on R&D by 2030 – nearly double the UK target. Achieving the city region’s 5% R&D target would deliver an estimated £41.7bn of gross economic benefit, a 10% increase in productivity and 44,000 new jobs.
The city region is a world leader in infection prevention and control, materials science and AI solutions and emerging technologies with emerging strengths in net-zero and maritime innovation.
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Executive Director Investment and Delivery, Dr Aileen Jones, said:
“These are hugely exciting times for innovation in the Liverpool City Region.
“We have a new Life Sciences Investment Zone, which like our Freeport, offers significant opportunities to businesses and investors wishing to capitalise on our world-leading innovation capabilities.
“Innovation Investment Week will allow us to showcase the city region’s creativity, entrepreneurship and scientific brilliance, while shining a light on plans to inspire the next generation of innovators.”
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