The Manufacturing & Supply Chain Conference & Exhibition, which is being held at the SEC Glasgow on the 25th October 2023, will serve as a national forum for manufacturers and operators involved throughout the associated supply chains from across Scotland to gather to discuss pressing issues facing the industry. The event is being organised in order to successfully connect key stakeholders across the full manufacturing spectrum in Scotland, including the food and drink, energy, renewables, electronics, aerospace, biopharma, medtech, healthcare, construction, textiles, procurement, and precision engineering sectors.
Once boasting the most sophisticated shipbuilding industry in the world, the manufacturing sector in Scotland has changed rapidly in recent years and, following a period of sharp decline in the 1980s and 1990s, has now been regenerated and successfully diversified. Employing more than 180,000 people across the country, manufacturing plays a vital role in the Scottish economy, accounting for half of all exports and half of the research and development spend. Furthermore, the diversification of the manufacturing industry in Scotland has resulted in the creation of highly skilled jobs with median earnings almost 20% higher than those for the economy as a whole.
Scotland still enjoys global pre-eminence in traditional sectors like whisky, seafood and handmade clothing but also now in newer areas including software development, particularly international gaming. Scotland also enjoys an international reputation for fostering a highly supportive business environment, where companies across all sectors are helped to innovate, scale up and create high-value employment.
An impressive line-up of manufacturing leaders, academics and government agencies who will engage in a stimulating blend of key note addresses and debates is being assembled for the Scottish event. The Manufacturing & Supply Chain Conference & Exhibition in Glasgow will also feature an extensive exhibition showcasing the latest technological solutions and business services.
This one-day event will showcase impact success stories, offer you a chance to find a partner from another Scottish university, and give you the opportunity to access funds for impact collaborations. Inspirational sessions include a keynote speech from Mark Miodownik and skills development and networking facilitated by Skillfluence.
The IAA Impact Festival is organised by the five Scottish universities with EPSRC Impact Acceleration Accounts (IAAs): University of Edinburgh, University of Strathclyde, University of Glasgow, Heriot-Watt University and University of St Andrews.
Plenary sessions
Our keynote speaker is Mark Miodownik, Professor of Materials and Society at UCL. He champions materials science research that links to the arts and humanities, medicine and society. Mark established the Institute of Making, where he is a director and runs the research programme. He also recently set up the Plastic Waste Innovation Hub to carry out research into solving the environmental catastrophe of plastic waste. Mark is a broadcaster and writer on science and engineering issues, and believes passionately that to engineer is human. In 2018 he was awarded an MBE for services to materials science, engineering and broadcasting.
The keynote will be followed by lightning talks from impact leaders from the five leading Scottish universities in science and engineering. The speakers will share their experiences of creating different types of impact from social and policy impact to industry collaboration, commercialisation and company creation. Learn how our speakers have leveraged the support available to them to further their career and translate their research into impact. The speakers are:
- Larissa Naylor, University of Glasgow
- Dan Hodgson, University of Edinburgh, The Physics of Goo: Impact from soft matter and complex fluids
- Laura Wicks, Heriot-Watt University, Lothian Lugs – flipped the model of university engagement
- Charles McLeod, University of Strathclyde, Innovation to impact: Enhancing through-life asset management, from cradle to grave
- Ross Gillanders, University of St Andrews
- Networking sessions
- Skillfluence will facilitate structured networking that will allow you to meet other researchers from across Scotland and creatively explore opportunities to collaborate.
Interface will be exhibiting at this event so come and join us.
Sign up for a day of inspiration, insights, learning and networking. Supply chain resilience, industry 4.0 technologies, leadership & culture, operational excellence and sustainability will all be covered. Find out how the manufacturing sector responded to a global pandemic, how it can recover and how we will reimagine the future.
The conference, previously known as the Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service (SMAS) National Manufacturing Conference, will arm manufacturing sector and supply chain businesses with the ambition, vision, knowledge, tools and networks to increase productivity and maintain future competitiveness.
Making Scotland’s Future is a partnership between Scottish Government, public agencies, industry and academia that are collectively taking forward a programme of activity designed to secure a strong, sustainable future for Scotland’s manufacturing sector, aligned to the Scottish Government’s ambitions in the National Strategy for Economic Transformation. The power of Making Scotland’s Future lies in harnessing all of its collective networks, channels and support to help drive productivity, innovation and competitiveness, maintain and create high-quality jobs, and attract and develop talent, while embedding low carbon and sustainable manufacturing as its core. The vision is for Scotland to be a country inventing, designing, developing and manufacturing world-leading products and technologies. Through continuing support and investment, we are making Scotland’s future today.
The Making Scotland’s Future Conference is being led by Scottish Enterprise on behalf of the Making Scotland’s Future partnership.
Interface are exhibiting and we’d love to see you there!
Join Highland and Islands Enterprise for a networking event with guest speakers Paul Easto of Wilderness Scotland and Clare Campbell of Prickly Thistle. They will discuss how they’ve grown their businesses from inception to expansion, along with the highs and lows of getting to where they are.
Experts from Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Business Gateway, Inverness Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Small Business will be on hand to explain the different forms of support they offer.
Come along and explore what the possibilities are for your business.
Refreshments will be served and the event will be live streamed.
Regional partners are co-creating a new Innovation Action Plan; a plan that will use our collective creativity and innovation capability to tackle the productivity gap and help realise our climate ambitions. Above all, this plan will support more responsible innovation and contribute to levelling up the longstanding and endemic inequalities of place. And if we get this right, it will enable us to pitch the region domestically and globally as an inclusive, progressive place with a distinctive innovation offer that is open for business.
The Regional Innovation Partnership, Glasgow City of Science and Innovation are arranging a series of Roundtable sessions with selected innovation actors (with a presence in, or a connection to, the Glasgow City Region) to help shape this new plan to progress our diverse innovation economy for productivity, people and planet. You are invited to contribute to this session on: Designing Seamless and Integrated Innovation Support across Key Industries
The Glasgow City Region (GCR) has a remarkable heritage in driving forward new global frontiers in the field of innovation – from the television and ultrasound to the transformational technologies powering today’s industries.
Glasgow became one of the first UK cities to undergo a post-industrial renaissance, and we are now home to a world-class R&D base and one of the most diverse innovation economies in Europe. With the largest academic community outside London, we are developing clusters of strength across a range of specialisms from space and precision medicine to advanced manufacturing and quantum. Critically, we are working to strengthen the interactions between sectors and technologies through market mechanisms, engagement in supply chains, governance and networked infrastructure – notably our innovation districts.
The world knows about Glasgow again and there’s something really exciting happening in the innovation space here. But there is more to do to exploit and develop our rich assets to unlock GCRs innovation potential and create a fairer, greener and more prosperous City region for all our citizens.
Join the Traveltech for Scotland team, industry partners and guest speakers for an evening of networking and conversation on Wednesday 17 May, from 6-9pm at Barclays Eagle Labs, Glasgow.
Start-up Journeys: In conversation with SENSECity and My Customer Lens
Guest speakers and start-up founders Pooja Katara of SENSECity and Paul Roberts of My Customer Lens, will share how they have gotten value from communities and networks in their start-up journey, offering reflections, challenges and ideas for discussion.
Investing in Start-ups: In Conversation with Plug and Play
Guest speakers from Plug and Play, one of the world’s leading early stage investors, will share what they look for when investing in tech start-ups, and explore the challenges involved, with opportunities for thoughts and discussion.
The Traveltech for Scotland team will be joined in guest conversations by CodeBase industry colleagues Alison Savill, Head of Regional Engagement for Glasgow, and Shona Marsh, Head of Education Programmes.
Make New Connections
Enjoy relaxed networking, snacks and drinks and make new connections with communities in the room, including industry colleagues from Glasgow City Innovation District and CodeBase.
More Information
Barclays Eagle Labs Glasgow is accessible on foot from both Queen Street and Central train stations. It is also close to Bridge Street Subway. Please note, there is no designated parking on-site. There will be opportunities for networking before and after the speaker sessions which will take place from 6.30pm – 7.45pm. Drinks and snacks will be served. Timings for the evening will be published shortly.
For any questions about the event please contact the organiser, Traveltech for Scotland. In addition, if you need further information about the location or the event you can also contact CodeBase.
The Open University in Scotland, in partnership with Moray Chamber of Commerce and Visit Moray Speyside BID, invite you to an informative Skills for Business Roadshow.
This is the perfect opportunity for employers to gain valuable insights and learn about the fantastic training available. We can also share with you the funding opportunities that you could utilise to develop your skills and that of your employees.
Upskilling and reskilling is available at little to no cost for both individuals and businesses.
We cannot wait to welcome you to one of these events and share with you all the incredible opportunities available to help your business thrive.
The Moray Business Showcase – a business to business exhibition gives you the opportunity to make new business connections and gives your business the perfect platform to sell itself.
2023 is the first year in three years that there are no restrictions upon us, and people are ready to get back out to connect with a bang.
Local businesses will have the opportunity to showcase themselves at the great venue that is Moray Sports Centre on Wednesday 7th June.
Whether you want to work with local businesses for procurement, recruitment, business services such as legal, accountancy or even stationery supplies, (this list really is endless!) then the Moray Business Showcase provides you the opportunity to grow your network.
Interface will be exhibiting at the event so come along and meet Carol-Ann Adams to find out how Interface can connect your business with the most relevant skill or expertise from Scotland’s universities and research institutions to help your organisation create and improve products, streamline services and develop processes to drive business growth.
The event is free to attend.