Campus Technology Hub
Unlocking innovation
Engineering R&D equipment and expertise plays a vital role in the process that turns imaginative ideas into successful products. For fledgling businesses, the expense, time and effort involved in developing, buying or accessing the right skills and facilities can be daunting. At the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), we recognise the challenges experienced by many companies trying to develop original ideas into solid business prospects through the existing routes in the UK. At best, the result can be development costs that ramp up alarmingly or delays in time to market. At worst, plans and prospects may be seriously compromised.
A new solution
The Campus Technology Hub (CTH) is a new STFC initiative designed to catalyse UK innovation by breaking down these barriers to create a new route to success. Based at STFC’s Daresbury Laboratory on the Sci-Tech Daresbury science and innovation campus, the CTH has one purpose: to provide a pathway for entrepreneurs to turn ideas into reality. This will be achieved through affordable access to an impressive array of technologies, equipment and expertise, eliminating the need for you to develop, buy or pay prohibitively high prices to use engineering R&D capabilities. With the CTH, everybody wins: • High-tech companies of all sizes – from entrepreneurs to blue-chips can leverage the facilities and skills needed to cut product development costs, accelerate innovation and reduce time to market • The unique technologies of STFC, the European Space Agency (ESA)
and the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) are harnessed more widely by UK companies, helping to drive innovation and economic growth • By bringing their high capital value engineering equipment and facilities under the CTH umbrella,
businesses and universities can increase utilisation rates and maximise return on investment • Businesses and researchers from historically unconnected sectors can work collaboratively to de-risk developments and create new and exciting opportunities
Enabler, broker, facilitator – the CTH is the ‘neutral venue’ bringing people from industry, research and academia together to realise innovative new products.
Enabling UK economic growth: How the CTH works Technology, skills and facilities from STFC and strategic partners
Technology or equipment developed by universities
Technology or equipment developed by industry
CAMPUS TECHNOLOGY HUB
Technology, capital/other equipment, skills and facilities available for use by small businesses, start-ups and entrepreneurs
Accelerated development of innovative products
New clusters and communities driving innovation forward
The CTH concept is founded on two simple facts: • The UK is home to outstanding scientific capabilities with the potential to enable, optimise and accelerate the development of innovative products and services, in sectors ranging from medicine and security to energy and the environment • There are countless small businesses across the UK whose performance and prospects could be significantly strengthened if they could harness those capabilities easily and cost-effectively
Support at every step
The CTH’s extensive portfolio of equipment and expertise is designed to assist your business at every stage of the product development cycle: • • • • • • •
Exploratory research Concept development Proof of concept Prototyping Development of field-trial products Testing Evaluating
It’s a portfolio that enables you to push your business forward without the need for intensive capital spend on equipment or the associated space demands, running costs and investment in staff recruitment and training. In addition, the CTH aims to provide: • Training and upskilling apprentices and staff from innovative businesses • Access to STFC’s and our partners’ wider portfolio of world-leading skills and facilities, spanning specialised
scientific disciplines and award-winning business support services including ‘hot labs’ and workshops • A host of networking opportunities at the thriving innovation community established at Sci-Tech Daresbury, lighting the touch-paper to productive collaborations, partnerships and profitable new initiatives Whatever your field of business – if you think you could utilise the CTH to drive down your costs, enhance your competitive edge and help secure your future… Whatever your expertise – if you are developing electrical, electronic, mechanical or other equipment that could, under the CTH umbrella, re-locate to Daresbury Laboratory or be made available for third party use on your premises… We want to hear from you!
About STFC One of the world’s leading multidisciplinary science and technology organisations, STFC supports, co-ordinates and promotes research, innovation and skills development that can build industries, strengthen economies and create jobs.
A new tailor-made facility for the Campus Techology Hub is currently under construction at the Sci-Tech Daresbury science and innovation campus, due to open April 2015.
CTH inventory – A world of capabilities STFC’s reputation for excellence extends far and wide through many specialised fields of science and engineering. A key component of the CTH is to provide access to STFC’s varied technical capabilities, including: • Analogue electronics simulation • Advanced electrical engineering • Complex materials analysis and engineering • Mechanical engineering fabrication, assembly and metrology • Cryogenic system design and assembly • Data acquisition • Detector system technology • Electronic system fabrication and assembly • Graphical user interface and control software design • High performance computing and advanced visualisation facilities • Magnetic systems • Power supply system control • Precision metrology • Semiconductor detector modelling. • Space technologies • Ultra-high vacuum technology • Wind energy research • X-ray optics
Images courtesy of Dreamstime.com and STFC.
The Campus Technology Hub is the new route to commercial success for high-tech entrepreneurs. If you believe we could help your organisation, whether you’re a potential technology user or provider, contact us at: Science and Technology Facilities Council Daresbury Laboratory, Sci-Tech Daresbury Keckwick Lane, Warrington Cheshire WA4 4AD Email: innovation@stfc.ac.uk Web: www.stfc.ac.uk/innovation Follow us on Twitter @STFC_b2b