AI on the agenda at In The Know 

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AI on the agenda at In The Know 

 

The opportunities and applications of AI were the focus of our latest In The Know event this week.

 

We were delighted to welcome more than 50 guests to the breakfast session at the Garden Suite in iC2 at Sciontec’s Liverpool Science Park to hear from a panel of experts across a range of sectors.

 

The panel featured Sciontec customers Antony Shimmin from MyCardium AI and Serge Patrick-Heselton of Clixels, alongside Ed Chan, head of legal technology at Hill Dickinson and representatives from two Knowledge Quarter Liverpool organisations – Professor Elizabeth Maitland from AI Sight, and Andrew Borland from the Virtual Engineering Centre.

 

Guests were treated to some fascinating insights around the application of AI in different business settings, how the technology is likely to develop over the coming years and how  businesses can optimise their use of new technology around the needs and strengths of their existing teams and operations.

 

Antony demonstrated how AI not only provided the platform for their game-changing cardiovascular diagnosis platform (increasing accuracy by around 40%), but how he also used it to enhance his everyday work – (who knew Chat GPT could ask you fund raising questions in a Mancunian accent!?). 

 

Also working in the healthcare space, Elizabeth discussed how AI can be utilised to diagnose patients more quickly, using a low-cost solution to provide more accurate diabetic eye-screening services.

 

For Andrew and Serge, the message of the day was that AI is a tool to be used to increase productivity – not something to be feared. Whilst for Edmund, a couple of examples on how not to use AI (and earn some embarrassing legal losses) featured in his whistle-stop tour around the complex field of AI regulation and implementation.

 

Audience questions led to some equally interesting debate, with AI likened to a baby. Be careful what you ask for, and how you say it, if you want it to grow up nicely!

 

They also enjoyed delicious coffee and breakfast pastries from our friends at Miles Coffee in iC1.

 

The next KQ Liverpool ‘In The Know’ event will be announced in the coming weeks.

 

KQ Liverpool joins international innovation districts group

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It becomes the first in the UK to take part in The Global Institute on Innovation Districts’ Connect Programme

Knowledge Quarter Liverpool (KQ Liverpool) has joined an international networking and collaboration programme led by The Global Institute on Innovation Districts (GIID).

Over the next two years, it will participate in Connect, a highly-curated initiative providing access to a community of innovation districts at various stages of development from across the world to collaborate with peers and share best practice on issues such as governance, finance, growth strategies and expanding inclusive employment opportunities.

KQ Liverpool will also gain exclusive access to GIID’s empirical research and a nuanced, longitudinal analysis of district progression, uncovering key factors and interventions that accelerate growth while learning from stalled efforts.

Fellow members of the Connect programme include innovation districts in Nagaoka City (Japan), Gold Coast (Australia), Oklahoma City (USA), and Ñuble (Chile).

Andrew Lewis, Chief Executive at Liverpool City Council and Chair of KQ Liverpool, said:

“Liverpool has always been a city region that proudly faces the world and this new partnership is a great opportunity for us to showcase our innovation district on a global stage.

“It also offers us the chance to learn from our peers in the GIID community and refine our vision for KQ Liverpool and the innovation services we deliver alongside our partner organisations.”

The new membership will stand alongside KQ Liverpool’s existing partnership with UK Innovation Districts Group (UKIDG).

Innovate UK Business Growth establishes its base in KQ Liverpool

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We are excited to announce that Innovate UK Business Growth has chosen Knowledge Quarter Liverpool (KQ Liverpool) as a new in-person location! This decision reinforces KQ Liverpool’s status as a premier ecosystem for high-growth innovation.

Located in one of the healthiest buildings in the world, companies will have to opportunity to meet with their Innovation and Growth Specialist in this state-of-the-art facility at The Spine. This environment is perfect for continuing their mission of helping businesses unlock their full potential through innovation. Their tailored approach will connect pioneering companies in Liverpool with invaluable resources, networks, and investment opportunities, empowering them to grow, attract investment, and expand onto the global stage.

Innovate UK Business Growth is Innovate UK’s national business growth and scaling service, accelerating the ambitions of its clients through one-to-one support from over 450 innovation and growth specialists embedded across the UK.

Knowledge Quarter Liverpool (KQ Liverpool) is a world-leading, 450-acre urban innovation district that occupies over half of Liverpool’s city centre. Home to influential players in science, health, and technology, KQ Liverpool is dedicated to creating an environment where like-minded organisations, academics, and scientists can collaborate to drive impactful change.

With Innovate UK Business Growth’s presence in the district, we are poised to elevate Liverpool’s position as a ecosystem for high-growth innovation and create new opportunities for businesses in the region.

For more information about our ecosystem and how KQ Liverpool is driving innovation, visit our website.

NHS cancer centre co-develops the world’s first AI-based tool for specialist cervical cancer treatment

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The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Liverpool has partnered with Canadian software company Limbus AI* to trial and co-develop the world’s first commercial AI-based auto-contouring tool for a specialist cervical cancer treatment known as brachytherapy.

Brachytherapy is a type of radiotherapy that involves placing an intense radiation source inside or in close contact with tumour cells. This makes it particularly well suited to treating tumours in particular parts of the body such as the cervix.

Although it is highly effective, some patients can find cervical brachytherapy uncomfortable as it involves lying flat for several hours with an applicator in place so clinical teams and physicists can plan and deliver the treatment.

Using an AI-based tool to reduce the length of time this takes could therefore significantly benefit patients as well as the professional teams involved.

Yet, although these tools have been used for some years in traditional radiotherapy planning, until now there has been nothing similar available for cervix brachytherapy patients – arguably, the group that would benefit from it the most.

Clinicians and clinical scientists (physicists) at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Liverpool – which in 2019 was one of the first UK hospitals to use AI in radiotherapy treatment planning – spotted this gap and approached contacts at Limbus AI to suggest collaborating on a solution.

The two organisations have worked together to develop and test the world’s first commercial AI-based auto-contouring software modules for cervix brachytherapy. The tool has been successfully trialled at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre and other hospitals and has just been launched commercially in the UK for use in clinical practice.

It works by recognising and automatically outlining important organs in the body on MRI scans. Cervix brachytherapy is a complex process because every patient has their own unique treatment plan, carefully designed to target their cancer and protect other critical body organs from radiation.

It is a daycase procedure that begins with the patient having an applicator inserted in theatre under general anaesthetic. Once recovered, they have an MRI scan that creates a slice-by-slice view of their cancer and the vital organs around it so clinicians and clinical scientists can create their treatment plan. The radiation treatment is delivered through the applicator and then the applicator is removed.

‘Contouring’ is a key part of the treatment planning process. It is traditionally done by an oncologist who must painstakingly go through every slice of the MRI scan and outline the critical body organs so they can be protected during treatment. This can take over an hour.

Although AI-based software already helps reduce this time in traditional radiotherapy planning by automatically outlining organs for clinicians to review and refine, this wasn’t the case for cervix brachytherapy.

Early clinical experience of the new AI-based tool at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre indicates an average time saving of around 13 minutes per treatment plan. As every patient needs three brachytherapy treatments, this could represent a significant improvement in patient experience. The total time saved for clinicians will also be significant.

Rhydian Caines, Principal Clinical Scientist at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, said:

“As a clinical team we are keenly aware that brachytherapy can be a difficult experience for patients and were frustrated that we couldn’t find an auto-contouring solution for brachytherapy, despite this technology being available in more traditional radiotherapy settings.

“The team at Limbus AI have been fantastic in answering our ‘call to action’ on this, and it has been a thrill to collaborate with them on bringing this system into existence.

“It’s early days and we’ll be continuing to work with Limbus on refining the AI models but we are encouraged by our early timing data and hope this will translate into an improved experience for our patients and those in lots of other cancer centres as well.”

Dr Anthea Cree, Consultant Clinical Oncologist at The Clatterbridge Cancer Cere, said:

“It’s brilliant that this is now available for cervical brachytherapy. Obviously it still needs to be checked by clinicians but it means we don’t have to do all the outlining from scratch. The accuracy is particularly good for the bladder which means I can focus more on other areas.

“Rhydian and our Brachytherapy team are very innovative and worked closely with Limbus AI to help develop this. It’s a privilege to work with such a forward-thinking team who are always looking at how we can improve things for our patients.”

Kevin Riddell, Limbus AI Product Manager, said:

“It’s been fantastic to work with Rhydian and the entire team at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, along with our other global partners, to bring this technology to patients.

“As a company founded by current and former radiation oncology clinicians, we share a common mission to create solutions that directly benefit cancer patients. We’re thrilled to see it making a real difference at The Clatterbridge and other centres around the world.”

What is an Innovation District?

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Innovation can be defined by many things – a new idea, a new product, a new method. This is the foundation of how an innovation district should be built. A collision of multiple forward thinking ideas that help to service or resolve a health, science or technology problem, through different urban communities and backgrounds collaborating towards one common goal, making our society a better place to live and work. 

 

What defines an innovation district? Why does innovation happen in one hub? Why is innovation important to those in and around these districts and the city as a whole? 

 

As defined by the UK Innovation Districts Group: “Innovation districts are urban areas with networks of knowledge-producing organisations such as universities, research bodies, teaching hospitals, cultural institutions, and knowledge-intensive businesses.”

 

There are a number of significant innovation districts across the UK, with twelve coming together as part of the UK Innovation Districts Group. They share a similar goal of promoting urban areas within their cities and connecting them to the wider commercial and business districts. 

 

KQ Liverpool

 

Knowledge Quarter Liverpool (KQ Liverpool) is a 450-acre innovation district in Liverpool City Centre which aims to provide a connective hub for its science and technology businesses – start-ups, scale-ups and established organisations – alongside universities and NHS Trusts. 

 

As the strategic place-shaping organisation tasked with driving forward Liverpool’s innovation district, we deliver business support programmes for startups and growing SMEs to drive collaboration and growth.

 

We also aim to enhance the skills base among local students and break down any barriers to entry for many in the Liverpool City Region. In doing so, we hope to curate a future pipeline of innovators within our local workforce and inspire them to make their own mark on the city region’s science and technology ecosystem.

 

By intervening early, we hope to nurture students’ interest in science and technology and create a lasting legacy of highly skilled employees, while also promoting an attractive destination for external talent, across a range of successful, dynamic businesses.

 

Innovation in motion

 

Statistics show that an innovation district, through the work of its partners and key stakeholders, can have a significant impact on its local community and surrounding areas. 

 

KQ Liverpool contributes an estimated £1 billion gross added value for the City Region, with an aspiration to increase this further by 2030. It also supports more than 14,000 jobs and our objective is to help create an additional 10,000 additional roles over the next decade.

Any innovation is only as successful as its interest, investment and opportunity. For emerging talent to have a clear path for their career, we need forward-thinking science and technology businesses to provide those opportunities. 

 

New spaces are essential to facilitate these emerging businesses and an innovation district is the perfect place to begin that journey. There are currently more than 1,200 science and technology SMEs located in the Liverpool City Region – coworking and flexible office spaces in modern facilities provide them with a perfect platform for growth. 

 

KQ Liverpool’s spin-out development company Sciontec is bringing forward the development of new office and lab spaces in the innovation district, most notably HEMISPHERE One and Two, which will further cement the innovation district as a crucial part of the City Region.

 

Innovation and Regeneration

 

Investment in innovation is vital in establishing the district as a force for regeneration and transformational economic growth. The Liverpool City Region Health and Life Sciences Investment Zone is designed exactly for that, providing local economic growth to these areas by providing funding to advance the innovation agenda.

 

Having this continued support for an innovation district can allow occupiers within the space to thrive and create real opportunities for young innovators and entrepreneurs. KQ Liverpool alone has grown 20% over the past five years, with an estimated 40% of SMEs exporting their products or services to international markets. The tech sector alone has seen a 30% increase over the past 5 years, supported by investment from local and central government.

 

The development of any innovation district must be aligned with any current or future developments across the wider City Region as different places vie to attract the brightest and the best. In turn, having strong innovation districts around the UK, including the North, can help to diversify the workforce and attract and retain talent from different backgrounds and representations.

 

KQ Liverpool’s future vision will continue to encompass the concept of inclusive innovation and our work with students of all ages to understand the career paths available in the City Region. An outlined vision gives the district a common goal, one that once aligned with the local city goals, can help to accomplish. 

 

An innovation district should become the heartbeat of any City Region looking to capitalise on the emerging talents and pioneering businesses on its doorstep. This in turn will attract international businesses, provide new career opportunities and continuously drive improvement in the health, wellbeing and prosperity of individuals across the community.

Skills engagement can unlock LCR potential

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I once read that “every skill you acquire doubles your chances of success” and, while that may not be entirely factually correct, I do believe it cuts to the heart of why skills engagement is so important.

The more skills we have at our disposal, the greater the odds that those skills become useful and set us on the right path. In the context of KQ Liverpool’s approach to skills engagement, we can be certain that the greater knowledge a person has about something, the more it becomes demystified, and the choices they make become more informed.

When young people are looking ahead and trying to figure out what they want to do with their future lives, it’s impossible to have too much information to hand. The broader the horizon, the better, and understanding the opportunities available in their own City Region is a great starting point.

Fuelling the innovators of tomorrow

KQ Liverpool is an innovation district that’s home to some of the world’s most influential players in science, health, technology, culture and education, underlining the Liverpool City Region’s strengths in health and life sciences, infection control, materials chemistry and AI solutions and emerging technologies.

We have global leaders in various sectors and an array of talent that we can be proud of. They are also the bedrock of our future social and economic prosperity, which is reflected in the LCR’s Investment Zone plans, so it’s crucial that we maximise the potential they can offer.

Within our placemaking agenda, we believe the new discoveries made here and the jobs and opportunities they create should benefit the wider City Region community, which is why we have placed skills engagement at the heart of our work.

This involves close collaboration with local schools and colleges, as well as our many partner institutions and businesses within KQ Liverpool to create a confluence where ambition, innovation and education come together.

We work closely with the LCR Careers Hub to benchmark against the relevant Gatsby markers and give schools a better understanding of the impact. We have also created a KQ Liverpool schools prospectus to break down the barriers to innovation and make it relatable and understandable with a simpler vocabulary and a focus on skills and career opportunities.

Doorstep delivery

A key part of our skills engagement work is the Future Innovators Programme, where Sixth Formers from across the Liverpool City Region are invited to take part in an activities tour around a handful of KQ Liverpool innovation sites. They receive first-hand insight into the pioneering work taking place on their doorstep, such as venom extraction at LSTM’s Snakebite Research Centre or digital robotics at the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Liverpool Science Park.

To name but a few, other industry partners in the programme include the Astrophysics team at Liverpool John Moores University, the Digital Innovation Facility at the University of Liverpool, Royal College of Physicians, Infection Innovation Consortium, Elida Beauty Products (part of Unilever) and gaming developer Draw & Code, demonstrating the depth of insight students can access. 

It’s rewarding to see students enjoy the activities and want to know more about the career pathways that may exist. We also enjoy receiving positive feedback from teaching staff and helping them to arrange work experience placements further down the line. 

Another great measure of our skills programme is the willingness of so many expert partners to take part. They understand the importance of skills engagement as keenly as we do and they see the value of engaging with young people and collaborating to develop new talent.

Making an early start

We believe it’s never too early to engage with children about skills, so we’ve developed a brand new illustrated children’s book – The Animates : Learning in Liverpool – which follows a team of seven animal inventors who crash land in KQ Liverpool and embark on a madcap tour of its various organisations to find the innovations needed to get them home. 

Our ambition was to create a unique, enduring platform to introduce primary school aged children to the concept of innovation. At the heart of the story is a question about the qualities that make an inventor and how to bring your ideas to life.

We want to have a copy in every primary school classroom in the Liverpool City Region by the end of this year. It will be accompanied by a detailed lesson plan and the KQ Liverpool team is working with teachers to help them expand on the material in classrooms.

Connecting skills to business

Skills are crucial, but it’s also important to understand where they can take us. 

Our inaugural Careers Insight Week brought together pupils from sixteen different LCR schools for a series of events, delivered in partnership with LCR Careers Hub and funded by the Careers and Enterprise Company.

 

It culminated in an event for more than 100 Year 7 to 9 pupils at The Spine, where pupils heard from a panel of innovation industry experts and were then tasked with creating a new cosmetic product for teenagers and presenting their ideas in a ‘Perfect Pitch’ exercise.

 

Each team had to consider aspects such as product name, advertising slogan, ingredients, target market and unique selling points. This was accompanied by worksheets outlining the different skills applicable to jobs in these fields, the entry routes and the potential salaries that can be achieved. It was fascinating to see the differing approaches taken by each group and witness their passions for different elements of the process. 

Unlimited ambition

An innovation district like ours, rich in diversity of skills and applications, offers a fertile ground for young people of all backgrounds to harness their interests, sharpen their skills and broaden their horizons. By making it more accessible, the entire City Region stands to benefit for generations to come.

There is still so much more we can do and we have unlimited ambitions. If your organisation is able to welcome work experience or internship candidates or join our Future Innovators tour schedules, please get in touch. Equally, if you are able to support our funding efforts to print and distribute the Animates book, that would be a huge boost for us and a great way for you to get involved in this vital topic.

If you can help in any way, no matter how big or small, we would love to hear from you. 

KQ Liverpool welcomes hundreds of pupils to Careers Insight Week

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Sixteen schools across Liverpool City Region took part in Knowledge Quarter Liverpool’s first-ever Careers Insight Week.

The series of events, delivered in partnership with LCR Careers Hub and funded by the Careers and Enterprise Company, saw pupils from across the Liverpool City Region engage in visits to digital and innovation sites around the KQ Liverpool innovation district and take part in experience of workplace activities with leading industry experts.  Students’ knowledge, skills and behaviours were improved and they were informed about the different types of exciting, pioneering job roles that may be available to them in future.

It culminated in an event for more than 100 Year 7 to 9 pupils at The Spine building, where pupils heard from a panel of experts in a range of innovation industries. Speakers included Charlotte Johns at Elida Beauty, Andrew Borland from the Virtual Engineering Centre, Philippa Glover of Philippa Glover Ltd, Jen Fenner from Defproc Engineering and Phil Anders at Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.

The pupils were then tasked with creating a new cosmetic product for teenagers and presenting their ideas in a ‘Perfect Pitch’ exercise to a panel of judges including Charlotte Johns, Kate McDermott and Joe Cooke from Lyva Labs, and Clive Burton from the Manufacturing Technology Centre. 

Each team was asked to consider aspects such as the product’s name, advertising slogan, ingredients, target market and its unique selling points. The winning entry was entitled Clean Bean, an edible shampoo for sportspeople devised by a team of pupils from LIPA High School, while pupils from Birkenhead Park School were runners-up with their body acne treatment, LineA.  

Emily Robson, Assistant Chief Executive at KQ Liverpool, said:

“There is an abundance of career opportunities in science and technology within our innovation district and it’s vital that we are able to share those opportunities with the wider community, both through the Careers Insight Week and more broadly via our Future Innovators Programme.

“The levels of engagement and the quality of ideas the students brought forward during the week have been nothing short of incredible, reinforcing our belief that by making these innovations more accessible, we can help to give young people a unique chance to understand what is on their doorstep and alter their own future aspirations.

“This was our first Careers Insight Week and, with the support of LCR Careers Hub and Investment Zone funding, we are looking forward to welcoming many more pupils to KQ Liverpool over the coming years.”

Gill Walsh, Strategic Careers Hub Lead at Liverpool City Region Careers Hub, said:

“Collaborating with KQ Liverpool and developing a programme of ‘experience of the workplaces’ around careers in the digital and advanced manufacturing industries has meant that we have been able to engage with more young people and inspire them about the world of work.  

“Partnerships with key organisations like KQ Liverpool are not only vital in bringing employers and young people together but importantly enable us to focus on future growth opportunities linked into the relevant growth sectors for the Liverpool City Region.”

 

New Strategic Partnership for The Pandemic Institute

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The Pandemic Institute has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the UK National Measurement Laboratory at LGC (NML) at
an event held in Liverpool last week.

The partnership will bring the organisations together to work more closely on pandemic preparedness, as well as strengthen industry and academic links in the Liverpool City Region.

NML are the UK’s Designated Institute for chemical and biological measurement and play a leading role in standardisation of measurements across the world so that, for example, a medical test result obtained in London can be compared directly with test results from hospitals in Sydney, Seattle or Shanghai. This was of particular importance during the COVID-19 pandemic, and NML have recently
launched their ’Roadmap to Metrology Readiness for Infectious Disease Pandemic Response’, which identifies priorities and sets out pathways for pandemic preparedness for the measurement community.

Professor Julian Braybrook, UK Government Chemist and Director of NML, presented the roadmap at the event:

“The Roadmap sets out recommendations for specific measurement interventions that could enable a more rapid response and enhance clinical outcomes in a future pandemic. Through these interventions, it aims to provide globally accepted baseline measurements to empower health policy decision makers and give them confidence in the data which guide their interventions.

“We’re excited to be working more closely with The Pandemic Institute and other key stakeholders in the LCR. Liverpool has a long history of driving innovation in infectious disease research, and the city region has recently been designated by the UK Government as a High Potential Opportunity for foreign investment in vaccine development and manufacture.”

With a new northwest base planned in The Spine, Liverpool, The Pandemic Institute is looking forward to working more closely with NML, including the upcoming plans for a PhD studentship working on Lipid Nanoparticles (LNPs), which are small particles used for the delivery of some drugs or vaccines.

Professor Neill Liptrott, Chair in Pharmacology & Immunocompatibility Pharmacology & Therapeutics at the University of Liverpool, said:

“As part of our existing long-term plan with NML we are excited to collaborate on this PhD studentship, which aims to establish critical parameters of LNP formulations for vaccines and nucleic acid therapeutics and representative materials to support developers of LNP therapeutics. Working with NML since 2019, our partnership has gone from strength to strength, with joint academic posts between the University of Liverpool and NML and current plans to establish metrology within the Centre of Excellence for Long-acting Therapeutics (CELT Global Health).  Partnerships like this are critical to ensure that metrology and measurement science underpins the exciting biological work that we and others do, providing our work's robustness and transferability.”

Dr Ray Kent, Chief Operating Officer at The Pandemic Institute, added:

“One of The Pandemic Institute’s major strengths is bringing together key organisations in pandemic preparedness and response, to ensure we are never as unprepared again as we were in 2019. We are delighted to be signing this MoU with NML and welcoming them to Liverpool, and we’re looking forward to combining our future efforts.”

For more information on UK National Measurement Laboratory at LGC (NML), click here.

Future Innovators Programme among first IZ projects set for approval

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KQ Liverpool’s Future Innovators Programme is among the first seven Liverpool City Region Innovation Zone projects set for approval. 

Innovation Zone funding of £26.5m is being sought to support the seven projects, which will cost nearly £83m in total. 

They are among 21 projects being developed in the first phase of the 10-year, £160m Life Sciences Investment Zone programme, referred to locally as the Innovation Zone, that’s forecast to create £8,000 jobs and stimulate up to £800m of public and private investment, in addition to AstraZeneca’s £450m investment in its Speke vaccine facility announced in March. 

The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority will consider the seven projects at its meeting on June 7, with final approvals to follow in the coming weeks and months after further scrutiny. 

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:

“From the moment I was elected Mayor, it has been one of my priorities to cement our reputation as an attractive environment for businesses to invest. 

“We are already home to world leading clusters in life sciences, gaming, advanced computing, and infectious disease control – but I am never content with resting on our laurels. That is why we will invest 5% of local GVA in R&D by the end of the decade, nearly double the national target.

“I truly believe that innovation will be the fuel that powers our economy forward and by establishing ourselves as a hotbed of innovation and new technology, we will be ready to attract many more highly skilled, well-paid jobs, businesses and opportunities from around the world.” 

The first seven projects set for approval are: 

    • KQ Liverpool Future Innovators Programme: Led by Knowledge Quarter Liverpool, the programme will aim to raise awareness and aspiration for careers in life sciences and will work with local employers to develop traineeships and opportunities for young people. 
    • Embedded Skills Development Programme: Delivered by St Helens-based surgical simulator creator Inovus, the programme will facilitate 250 practical, skilled work experience placements for young people within health and life sciences over 5 years. It will replace the traditional two-week work experience by embedding 16-18-year-olds within businesses over 4-6 months. The aim is to expand the pilot across all city region boroughs through a network of host businesses to offer around 600 placements in the first five years. 
    • Health Tech Business Incubator: Led by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), the programme will work to drive innovation and commercialisation of research in the city region’s health and life sciences sector. Start up and early-stage businesses will be offered support including grant funding, support, training and access to Sci-Tech Daresbury’s world-class facilities. The four-year programme is expected to support 30 businesses. 
    • iiCON Phase 3: Led by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, iiCON (Infection Innovation Consortium) has grown into a £260m programme, delivering 36 new products to market since its creation in 2020. Phase 3 will deliver a new containment level 3 laboratory equipped with robotics and AI for the safe handling of pathogens. The new facility is forecast to support a 10-fold increase in the value and volume of activities, driving forward development of new treatments. iiCON is seeking £10m Innovation Zone funding with additional grant funding from the Wolfson Foundation and RED/UKRI. 
    • Microbiome and Infectious Disease Innovation Hub: Led by the University of Liverpool in partnership with the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), the hub will become a UK leader supporting industry to develop and commercialise microbiome and infectious disease innovations and therapies. This will drive forward preventative medicines and alternatives to antibiotics, helping address antimicrobial resistance. 
    • Pharmaceutical Services – Upstream Monoclonal Antibody Capabilities: TriRx is seeking £2m towards a £12m programme to install enhanced manufacturing facilities at its Speke site. The equipment is expected to increase productivity by 25% and satisfy global demand for monoclonal antibody drugs. The equipment will also contribute to R&D by city region research institutions. 
    • Sci-Tech Daresbury Violet Phase 2: £9.5m is being sought for a £24m project to build 90,000 sqft of containment level 2 ‘grow on’ laboratory and office space, addressing a local and national shortage. Two new buildings will be constructed which are expected to attract high-growth and established tenants resulting in at least 300 new jobs, with around 70-75% at degree-level or equivalent. 

LCR’s first Innovation Investment Week to highlight huge opportunities, while inspiring future innovators

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World leading innovation, billions of pounds of opportunities and inspiring the next generation of innovators will be highlighted during Liverpool City Region’s first ever Innovation Investment Week.

Dozens of children will help usher in the week on Monday, May 13, at the unveiling of a new primary school book, The Animates – Learning in Liverpool, to inspire 6 to 8-year-olds into science and innovation, developed by KQ Liverpool in partnership with Connected Places Catapult.

The event heralds four days of innovation-themed activity including a local launch of the city region’s new Life Sciences Investment Zone, a Dragons’ Den style pitching event, a pharma industry conference and the city region’s third Innovation Investment Summit.

Evening events include a Pint of Science – which features talks by more than 40 academics from the University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) and Liverpool School of Tropical Science (LSTM) at pubs in the city centre and Wirral. On Wednesday, University of Liverpool Professor Matt Rosseinsky – recipient of last year’s Eni Award which is often described as the Nobel Prize of energy research – will address a special audience at the Materials Innovation Factory.

Experts from around the world will gather for the day-long Innovation Investment Summit at LJMU’s Student Life building on Thursday, May 16.

Liverpool City Region has more than £725m of live innovation projects with a further £1.9bn in development. The Life Sciences Investment Zone, which started operating in April, is expected to attract an extra £800m of public and private sector investment and is in addition to Astra Zeneca’s £450m investment in its Speke facility announced in March.

Innovation Investment Week events include:

    • Local launch of the Liverpool City Region Life Sciences Investment Zone, showcasing 21 projects designed to supercharge the sector by creating new hi-tech facilities, providing business and innovation support and training the next generation of talent. The Investment Zone paves the way for £800m of public and private investment and 8,000 new jobs.
    • The third Innovation Investment Summit which will bring together business leaders from around the world to blend global experience with local knowledge to drive the innovation agenda. It will attract investors, entrepreneurs, industry experts, researchers, and policymakers from across the UK and internationally and will explore investment prospects in one of the UK’s most dynamic and welcoming regions.
    • A schools-focused launch of KQ Liverpool’s children’s book aimed at inspiring 6–8-year-olds into science and innovation. Dozens of children will be at The Spine to hear Natalie Reeves Billing read extracts from the book that features cartoon animals from space who crash in the Knowledge Quarter Liverpool innovation district and visit local world-leading innovators to repair their ship and themselves. The book has been commissioned by KQ Liverpool, in partnership with the Connected Places Catapult who are aiming to place copies in every city region primary school. The book will also be launched to a business and skills audience later in the week.

      Paddington The Spine in the day

      The Spine, Liverpool

    • A Dragons’ Den style pitching event in which innovative businesses from across the region will take the stage to showcase their groundbreaking ideas to a diverse panel of investors. The May 15 event is organised by LYVA Labs and the Infection Innovation Consortium: iiCON on behalf of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.
    • The 7th industry led Bionow Pharma Manufacturing Conference. Held in the heart of the city region’s UK-leading Speke Pharma Cluster, the event will cover emerging technologies in manufacturing, innovation in digitalisation, skills for the 21st Century workforce, technology transfer and investing in the North. Andrew Owen, from the University of Liverpool’s Centre of Excellent for Long-acting Therapeutics (CELT), will be among the speakers at the Growth Platform backed event on May 14.
    • Pint of Science. More than 40 University of Liverpool, LJMU and LSTM scientists, researchers and academics will take to the stage between May 13 – May 15 in venues across Liverpool and Wirral including Leaf, Future Yard, Tempest and the Ship and Mitre. From the surveillance state to how a cow and a spreadsheet could stop the next pandemic, there is something to satisfy everyone’s thirst for knowledge.

Since the first Innovation Investment Summit in 2022, Liverpool City Region has spearheaded a series of landmark initiatives including publication of the city region’s first ever Innovation Prospectus and piloting Innovate UK’s national Launchpad grant programme – reflecting the region’s highly developed place-based innovation approach.

Liverpool City Region has agreed the country’s first place-based partnership and action plan with Innovate UK and in 2023 a landmark innovation deal was signed with South Korea’s second city, Busan, as part of a major government UK-South Korea innovation twinning programme.

The city region has also become one of only three places in the UK to benefit from both Investment Zone and Freeport status.

The Investment Zone will help the city region towards its innovation powerhouse goal of spending 5% of its economy on R&D by 2030 – nearly double the UK target. Achieving the city region’s 5% R&D target would deliver an estimated £41.7bn of gross economic benefit, a 10% increase in productivity and 44,000 new jobs.

 

The city region is a world leader in infection prevention and control, materials science and AI solutions and emerging technologies with emerging strengths in net-zero and maritime innovation.

 

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Executive Director Investment and Delivery, Dr Aileen Jones, said:

“These are hugely exciting times for innovation in the Liverpool City Region.

“We have a new Life Sciences Investment Zone, which like our Freeport, offers significant opportunities to businesses and investors wishing to capitalise on our world-leading innovation capabilities.

“Innovation Investment Week will allow us to showcase the city region’s creativity, entrepreneurship and scientific brilliance, while shining a light on plans to inspire the next generation of innovators.”