Northern Powerhouse Business Summit - Great Innovators

Standard YouTube Licence

Jane Lambert

The Great Exhibition of the North describes itself as "a three-month celebration of the North of England’s pioneering spirit and the impact of our inventors, artists and designers. It’s a chance to show how our innovative spirit has shaped the world and is building the economy of tomorrow." One of the principal events of the Exhibition is the Northern Powerhouse Business Summit which has been taking place in Newcastle upon Tyne between 4 and 6 July 2018.  As my business is innovation I attended the first day of the Summit on Great Innovators. The other days focused on Great Opportunities and Great Futures.

The Summit took place in a building known as "The Boiler Shop" which is just behind Newcastle central station. According to its website the Boiler Shop was constructed in the 1820s for the world’s first locomotive works, Robert Stephenson & Company.  It was converted into an auditorium and conference centre in 2016.  The conference was opened by Pat Ritchie, Chief Executive of Newcastle City Council. She was followed by 15 other speakers who discussed their contribution to all sorts of projects ranging from developing inexpensive portable diagnostic equipment for use in remote rural communities to planting fruit and vegetables on vacant plots in Todmorden. The conference was chaired by Herb Kim whom I had first met some 10 years at events in Leeds and Manchester.

As the topic for the day was Great Innovators I had come to Newcastle expecting talks on the latest developments in science and technology.  While there was some of that in excellent presentations by Florence Diss of Google, Elaine Warburton of QuantuMDx and Sam Chapman of The Floow it soon became clear that the word "innovation" was to be given the broadest possible interpretation.  I make no complaint about that because I learnt a lot from the talks on all sorts of topics from recalibrating success in business from the chief executive of Grant Thornton to educating young people on the consequences of their decisions through Trylife's interactive screenings.

It would not be unfair to describe the event as a "summit" as there were some important speakers at the conference but I am not sure how much business was done there. My guess is probably a lot less than at a regional Venturefest which is why I seemed to be the only intellectual property lawyer (or indeed lawyer of any kind) and neither the Intellectual Property Office nor the local Business and Intellectual Property Centre exhibited at the Boiler House. Having said that, I met some very interesting delegates at the mobile lunch counters outside the Boiler House.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article should call me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 or send me a message through my contact form.