One of the first activities of the Technology and Innovation Centre has been to commission a study of future trends in manufacturing.
This work is being carried out by the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) at the University of Cambridge and will run over the next 3 - 4 months. It will build on road-mapping work carried out previously and it includes extensive consultation with industry, academia, the Research Councils and the Knowledge Transfer Networks. Companies wishing to be involved are asked to contact the address at the end of this newsletter.
Illustrated above, the overall aim of this project is to map the landscape which will shape the UK's High Value Manufacturing and innovation base over the next 15-20 years. In particular, the project aims to identify:
- The most important trends influencing the changing nature of manufacturing
- The greatest challenges and opportunities related to the competitiveness of UK manufacturing enterprises
- The most promising science, engineering and management innovations which may help meet these challenges and opportunities
- Opportunities to build common technologies across different sectors
This study runs in parallel with the development of the TIC's business plan, in order to establish the context within which the centre will operate.
Linking the global 'high value manufacturing landscape' and 'areas of potential international leadership for the UK' will enable "hot spots" to be identified, where UK capability aligns well with future global manufacturing needs and innovation challenges. This will in turn help to shape the centre's evolving strategy. Further, it may identify areas of opportunity which are not currently addressed by the centre or UK manufacturing research, and may usefully support the case for new research or innovation activities.
This initial programme will be delivered in time to support the development of the centre's business plan which will need to be in place for the technology and innovation centre to be operational in October 2011.