We are delighted to be running two workshops with Immerse UK: University-Industry R&D Collaborations in Immersive Technologies Secrets to Winning Innovation Funding and Running Successful Collaborative Projects in Partnership with Universities

“New immersive technologies such as virtual, augmented and mixed reality are changing how we experience the world around us – from entertainment to art, to shops and classrooms.” Innovate UK, 2018

The recent Government announcements of the £150million Creative Industries Sector Deal and £33million ‘Audiences of the Future’ challenge funding highlight the current exciting opportunities for innovation in immersive technologies. Immerse UK and CAMERA have teamed up to create two workshops aimed at catalysing new collaborations between UK Universities and innovative small businesses.

Event Description: The theme of the workshops is leveraging cross-sector partnerships and enabling, immersive technologies to stimulate collaborative R&D projects for innovation and business growth. The workshops will draw on the collective experience of seasoned collaborators from industry and academia, alongside funding providers and experienced bid writers. Participants be able to informally discuss what is involved in building successful collaborations with universities, what funding routes are available in relevant technology areas, and how best to access them. Participants will leave with a better understanding of the University research offering, collaboration routes, potential partnerships, relevant identified funding calls, and possibly a new project!

Who Should Attend: Priority will be given to UK based* startup, micro and small to medium sized enterprises** (SMEs) with a clear interest in novel development or applications of immersive technology platforms and content. Previous academic-industrial collaboration is not a prerequisite to attendance. The workshops are focused on immersive technologies as enablers for cross-sector innovation, and as such will welcome industry participants from a range of sectors including (but not limited to) games, TV/film, automotive, retail, architecture, sport, healthcare and culture/heritage. Academic participants from multiple universities will be invited with specialisms in immersive technology relevant disciplines including machine learning, computer vision, human-computer interaction and graphics.

Please note that places on the workshops are limited and we cannot guarantee that all applicants will be able to attend. Registering for this event does not guarantee a place. You will be contacted by email following registration and invited to submit a 100 word outline of your R&D interests. Successful applicants will be notified by email when your place will be confirmed. Please do not attend without email confirmation of your place.

* Ideally companies will be registered and have their operations based in the UK.** Loosely defined as those with 250 full time equivalent employees or less.

Pre-Workshop Materials: To inform presentations and group discussions, CAMERA will circulate a list of funding mechanisms and specific calls to participants before the event, plus example collaboration agreements used by Innovate UK.

All applicants will be asked to submit a 100 word outline of ~3-5 areas of interest for R&D collaborations in immersive technologies. Content should be top level only. This information will ONLY be used by the organizers to group participants by interest area in session 2. Information shared in the workshop application will not be made public or shared with any third parties at any point.

There are two opportunities to attend:

Thursday 3rd May 2018 – Bath The Innovation Centre, Broad Quay, Bath BA1 1UD

To register your interest to attend in Bath please go here.

Wednesday 23rd May 2018 – London University of Bath, Level 6, 83 Pall Mall, St James’s, London SW1Y

To register your interest to attend in London please go here.