Member Article

North East England flies the flag for innovation this Global Entrepreneurship Week

The North East has long been renowned as a region of innovation, thanks to its heritage carved by inventors including Swan, Armstrong and Stephenson. This spirit of innovation has never been more alive, and as we welcome Global Entrepreneurship Week 2014 (17-23 November), Luke Burton, manager of the Business & IP Centre Newcastle, explores what the region is doing to nurture home grown talent and which businesses are thriving and why.

Studies tell us that 11,505 new businesses were established in North East England last year. While in comparison to other regions in the UK that figure is low, the ratio of new businesses in the science and technology sectors is high.

Innovation hubs such as Science Central, Sunderland Software City and Digital City on Teesside, have done a great deal to attract companies in these sectors looking to relocate or start-up in the region. For entrepreneurs and new businesses, the support networks open to them are all encompassing - from our regional universities and funding partners to mentors and trainers.

At the Business & IP Centre we have a plethora of interesting and unusual start-ups through our doors each year. In fact, a survey we undertook last summer revealed that we had already supported 1,300 individuals, helping to create 66 businesses and 204 additional jobs in the region.

Some of the most exciting new companies we’ve had the pleasure of working with have included those who have developed a product from a personal passion. REALRIDER®, for example, is a smartphone app devised by entrepreneurs and motorcycling enthusiasts Zoe Farrington and Andrew Richardson. It automatically detects if a motorcycle rider has been involved in a crash by using motion sensors which send an alert to the rider’s phone. If the alert isn’t cancelled, the app immediately contacts the ambulance service with the location and pre-programmed medical details of the rider.

Through its early stage development, Newcastle Science City provided business support to REALRIDER®, while we offered guidance on access to finance, research and intellectual property. Today, the Durham-based business is growing from strength-to-strength, winning contracts on a national scale.

Another regional entrepreneur making great strides in her industry is Katharine Paterson. Using her experiences as a mother, Katharine developed Kare Kot, a cot-bed suitable for young children from birth to at least age five. Regarded as a ‘disruptive technology’, Kare Kot uses a unique drop mechanism to convert the cot-bed. The system is based on a rotating hinge rather than a vertical drop side, to reduce the risk of children getting themselves, or their clothes, caught in the mechanism. Katharine also received funding from Newcastle Science City to research her product and then prototype the design.

As part of Global Entrepreneurship Week (17-23 November), and to help more inventors like Zoe, Andrew and Katharine, we have introduced a comprehensive package of free, daily events this week with the theme: ‘Get Connected’.

Whether you want to speak to a panel of national experts on ‘how they made it’, get advice on how best to package up a new product or learn more about how social media can help support your business efforts, we have an event to suit you. Simply visit http://www.bipcnewcastle.co.uk/events/ for more information.

The Partnership delivering the Business & IP Centre Newcastle is made up of Newcastle City Council, Newcastle Science City, Northumbria University and the British Library, with support from the European Regional Development Fund.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Business and Intellectual Property Centre .