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Creating connections in the South West
Taking place at Reed Hall, Exeter, this event will bring together experts from academia, industry and government to address scientific and technical opportunities and challenges in the South West region.
The day will feature workshops and roundtable discussions on diverse topics including policy, innovation and education. The event will also feature a lunchtime address and networking session which will bring together delegates from across the conference.
A detailed schedule of the day's sessions is included below.
Attending this event
This event will be free to attend by invitation. To request an invitation, please contact industry@royalsociety.org.
Schedule
| 11:00 - 17:00 |
Industry College Networking Event
The day will feature a series of short talks from attendees, roundtable workshop activities, and networking opportunities, bringing together members of the Industry College (Entrepreneurs in Residence, Industry Fellows and Short Industry Fellows). |
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| 11:00 - 11:45 | Registration and lunch |
| 12:00 - 12:30 | Industry Fellow introductions |
| 12:30 - 13:00 | Past Industry Fellow reflections |
| 13:00 - 13:30 | Break |
| 13:30 - 15:00 | Entrepreneurs in Residence in the South West |
| 15:00 - 15:30 | Break |
| 15:30 - 16:30 | Diversity in Entrepreneurship |
| 16:30 - 17:30 | Reception |
| 17:30 - 17:30 | End of Event |
| 17:30 - 21:00 |
Industry Leaders' Dinner
The dinner will bring together business leaders and senior representatives of the Royal Society to discuss the scientific and industrial landscape in the South West, focusing on topics critical to the successful application of science for societal and economic benefit. |
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| 09:30 - 11:30 |
Investing in skills, education, and research and innovation to grow absorptive capacity and productivity in the South West
One of the missions outlined in the Government’s Levelling Up White Paper is that by 2030, domestic public investment in R&D outside the Greater South East will increase by at least 40%, and over the Spending Review period by at least one third. In addition, the White Paper highlights geographical disparities in skills and educational attainment, which impact regional economic performance. This roundtable will bring together representatives from universities, industry, and local government to discuss the importance of (and relationship between) skills, education, and innovation in growing absorptive capacity and productivity in the South West of England. What are the current policy challenges and how can they be overcome to benefit local people and places? The findings of this discussion will help inform the Royal Society's policy work related to Place and Levelling up. To request an invitation, please contact industry@royalsociety.org. |
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| 10:00 - 11:30 |
A discussion on the future of scientific publishing
‘Open Science’ has been in vogue for some time, and the Royal Society has been a driving force in its development and wider adoption. Join us for a discussion of the initiatives that Society journals have launched to support Open Science endeavours, and the moves we are making to continue our transition to a more open future for scientific publishing. To request an invitation, please contact industry@royalsociety.org. |
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| 11:30 - 13:00 |
Join us for a networking lunch running from 12:30pm to 2pm, which will bring together delegates from all of the events taking place during the conference. A keynote address will be given by Darren Jones MP, Chair of the House of Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee and MP for Bristol North West. 
Darren Jones MP
Darren Jones MPChair, House of Commons Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy Select Committee, MP for Bristol North West. |
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| 13:00 - 14:30 |
An overview of grant funding opportunities from the Royal Society
Members of the Royal Society Grants team will be speaking about their current funding opportunities available to UK-based and international researchers from postdoctoral fellowships to senior professorships. The team will provide advice on developing competitive grant applications and answer questions from the audience about all aspects of applying for funding. The speakers will be joined by a current Royal Society Early Career Research Fellow and Royal Society Industry Fellow, who will give their views on applying for and holding grant funding from the Royal Society. To request an invitation to this session, please contact industry@royalsociety.org. |
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Chair
Professor Samuel Vine
Professor Samuel Vine
Sam is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Exeter. He is the lead for the Exeter Immersive research network, and a member of the Virtual Immersive Training and Learning (VITAL) research group. His research is interested in the use of Immersive technology for the study of human behaviour and learning. In particular Sam’s work uses Virtual Reality to explore concepts relating to sensorimotor skill performance, and novel training methods that can expedite the journey to becoming an expert.
| 13:00 - 15:00 |
Uses of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality for scientific research
This workshop will gather academics and representatives from the private sector for an open dialogue about the use of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) for scientific research. What have been the barriers to accessing and using these technologies? How could these technologies better adapt to meet the needs of scientific research? How can we prepare policy makers to adequately respond to the future of these technologies? To request an invitation to this session, please contact industry@royalsociety.org. |
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