| National leadership
A key role of the Future Photonics Hub is to demonstrate national leadership in manufacturing the next generation of photonics technologies. During the last year, we have published a series of features showcasing initiatives where the Hub is both influencing and reacting to the national photonics landscape.
Tackling future public health and economic challenges Hub Principal Investigator Professor Sir David Payne explored the impact of COVID-19 on the UK’s research agenda, sharing his thoughts on the direction the research agenda may take and the role photonics and the Hub can play in tackling the public health and economic challenges that lie ahead. Professor Payne said, “The pandemic will have made many countries much more aware of how vulnerable their supply chains are; in the UK for example this has been brought into sharp relief with the problems sourcing personal protective equipment. So, the government will be focused on making us more resilient, not just in
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the biomedical area, but in all the other areas of the supply chain in which we have been found wanting during the pandemic. Because of Brexit there was already a greater interest in boosting our national capability and being less dependent on other countries, and this will heighten it further. I think the government will also focus on rebuilding the economy and in particular manufacturing. “At the Future Photonics Hub, our purpose is to bridge the gap between great research and its translation into great products. What the Hub does very effectively is to develop low-cost, reliable manufacturing processes to make things faster, cheaper and better. The technology can then be taken to market via new start-ups, by working with existing start-ups or by licensing to major companies.”
Among the areas that Sir David explored were: ■
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hanges to the UK’s research C agenda in the wake of COVID-19 hanges to research funding C areas as a result of the pandemic ow the UK research community H can adapt to the aftermath of COVID-19 ays that academia can W collaborate more effectively with industry ow photonics fits into the wider H research agenda ow photonics research can H contribute to medical solutions for diseases such as COVID-19 ther areas where photonics O could provide solutions to problems associated with the pandemic
Read the full story here.
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