Minister commends University’s Innovation Centre on recent visit
MINISTER of State Simon Clarke MP visited the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre (3M BIC) in Huddersfield after signing the new devolution deal for West Yorkshire alongside the Chancellor of the Exchequer and local leaders.
As part of his visit, the Minister met with the University of Huddersfield’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Bob Cryan, and Sue Cooke, the CEO of the 3M BIC, and toured the Centre’s Innovation Avenue, which houses technology available to businesses for product design, prototyping, 3D printing, and product verification.
The Minister also met the Northern Hub of the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), which is based in the Innovation Centre, tenants Ionix Advanced Technologies and Innovate Orthopaedics, as well as representatives from the University’s Supply Chain Programme.
Advanced technologies for local business
The 3M BIC have invested over £4m in technology, which includes the Huddersfield Innovation and Incubation Project (HIIP), a £2.9m grant awarded by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority on behalf of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership Growth Deal – a £1bn package of government investment to accelerate growth and create jobs across the Leeds City Region.
The HIIP allowed the University to purchase advanced technologies driven by feedback from local businesses and overlapped with its research expertise, to drive knowledge exchange with the region’s SMEs. Managed through the 3M BIC, the HIIP has supported around 150 SMEs and 480 potential entrepreneurs and four new jobs were created at the 3M BIC to support the scheme.
The Minister also visited the University of Huddersfield’s Enterprise Hub, based in the 3M BIC, which supports around 100 student and graduate entrepreneurs. He met Philip Clegg, Head of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, and numerous students and graduates from the University that have aspirations to work for themselves or set up their own businesses.
Simon Clarke MP
Minister of State
Commenting on his visit, Simon Clarke MP, Minister of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, said: “What a fantastic facility this is. Both staff and students should be very proud of what it being enabled in this space. This is a template for what we ought to be looking to energise more widely throughout the North and across the country. The bigger picture of my visit, the creation of this Mayoralty for West Yorkshire, is about making sure we create more strategic opportunities like this which help to level up our entire economy and society. I’ve never seen such a closer partnership between education and enterprise, evidenced by the sheer cutting-edge nature of the equipment and the enthusiasm of the staff. It’s a visit that will definitely stay with me.”
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