It seems hardly believable that we are already three and a half months into 2024.
Last week was a hectic week, as myself and Keely, our Relationship Manager, travelled from one end of the country to another to support and visit members. This week was no different for the LCRIG Team, with them supporting our partner Zenzic at their London Innovators Day on Wednesday.
Planning for the Innovation & Learning Festival continues apace, with a change in format to include the opportunity for exhibitors to submit a proposal to run a technical training session. If you are interested in exhibiting at the Festival this year, then please contact the team. There are only limited opportunities for either exhibiting or delivering a technical training session.
This year at the Innovation & Learning Festival, we will have several universities there showcasing their research projects and products. With support from Dwayne Lowe from Bolton Council (LCRIG Advisory Board Member), and Ian Large from Blackpool (LCRIG Innovation and Infrastructure Board Member) we have been meeting with the university sector over the last month or so. We are also in discussions with Innovators to bring some prototypes, although you can imagine how daunting this might be to bring prototypes to a very important (and sometimes critical) audience of local authorities and others! But with encouragement, we hope to showcase a few of these prototypes.
In addition to Universities, we are also looking at how we can work with partners that already work successfully in the STEM space, to bring a very different perspective to the Festival….my lips are sealed but I am very excited!!
Going back to university discussions over the last month, they have each welcomed the opportunity to talk with the sector about what they are developing and their research. I think it’s fair to say that with LCRIG’s pedigree in helping innovators and suppliers work together to trial products or services on the network. it is incredibly important to support this. But also, that we work with our academic partners, for which LCRIG has nine formal partnerships, with another going through membership at the moment.
Finally, as we pass through March, I can see the excitement rising in the Team. April signals the start of the conference and events season, through to November. You can see our events here. And not just our events, but those we are managing for RSTA, LGTAG and of course our attendance at this year’s Traffex and Highways UK. Why do we love events so much? They are the perfect opportunity to meet our partners and members face-to-face, and have conversations that I don’t think happen in quite the same way in a Teams style setting. So, if you are at either our events or others do come and say “Hi” to the LCRIG Team, and see if we can help you connect, collaborate and co-operate with one of the most vibrant communities in the sector.
Paula Claytonsmith, Chief Executive