design idea 1 - University of Wolverhampton

WINTER 2007
IN THIS
ISSUE
PAGE 1 FEATURE: Wolverhampton Is Top University At Business Awards PAGE 2 New Appointments / University Gives Boost
To Breakfast Club PAGE 3 Funding FAQs / Programme Of Events / Vice-Chancellor Nominated For Women Of The Year Awards /
University Rides High At Leather Museum / University Takes The Wind Out of Fencing / Manufacturing Club Continues Successful
Business Assistance PAGE 4 Intellectual Property And Technology Transfer News / Official Opening For £7million Business Centre /
Government Minister Sees Benefit of University Project
WOLVERHAMPTON
IS TOP UNIVERSITY
AT BUSINESS AWARDS
> The University of Wolverhampton stole the show again at
the 2007 Lord Stafford Awards winning two of the four awards
available for collaborating with businesses in the West Midlands.
Rachel Westwood of SkinScientists Ltd. won the
‘Entrepreneurial Spirit Award’ for her innovative brand
of ‘cosmeceuticals’ especially formulated for men.
Rachel’s company is the first British company to develop
male skincare products that bridge the gap between cosmetics
and plastic surgery.
Rachel realised the need for high quality marketing materials
and approached the University’s Institute for Innovation and
Enterprise (IIE) to help to develop her business. IIE provided
business start up advice and mentoring as well as access to
expertise in branding, product display and website design,
which enabled Rachel to bring her product to market quickly.
Rachel says: “It is a great honour to have won this award.
The support I received through the University of Wolverhampton
has been fundamental in the development of the Manceuticals
brand. IIE has provided endless assistance over the past two years.
In particular it has enabled us to use a professional office, which
gives us credibility with both suppliers and clients. Additionally
its expertise in branding facilitated the design of an exceptionally
professional-looking product.“
Robert Harris, Principal Lecturer Corporate Programmes,
University of Wolverhampton Business School, won the
‘West Midlands Knowledge Transfer Champion Award’ for his
contribution to knowledge transfer activities with companies.
Robert started working at the University in 1989 as a
lecturer and for the past three years, he has been working
as Associate Director at the University’s Institute for Innovation
and Enterprise.
One of his biggest successes has been in the field of
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) – the governmentfunded
graduate placement scheme. To date, he has developed
18 KTPs for the Business School in collaboration with local
companies and has provided the academic expertise on seven
of these programmes.
Robert comments: “I am very pleased to have won this award.
It is in recognition of the team work in the Business School in
developing knowledge transfer activities. We now have the top
Business School in the country for delivering KTPs.”
The University of Wolverhampton had four more finalists in line
for awards this year – Malvern Medical Developments Ltd., Fire
Protection Coatings Ltd., Charlton and Jenrick Ltd. and J. Banks
and Co. Ltd. In two categories, Impact through Innovation and
Achievement in Innovation, the University had two finalists.
For more information about the Lord Stafford Awards, please call
(01902 82) 4291 or e-mail: competitiveness-centre@wlv.ac.uk
PHOTO – above:
Rachel Westwood with
Lord Stafford
PHOTO – below: Lord
Stafford with Robert Harris.
1

New appointments
New Director Of Marketing
& Communications
> Ashar Ehsan was recently appointed
Director of Marketing and
Communications for the University.
Ashar’s career began in marketing
when he started work with a voluntary
organisation in Sheffield. By 1998 he
was working with City University
Business School and in 2000 he became
the Head of Corporate Communication
for Oxford Instruments plc. In 2002
Ashar moved to Fujitsu Siemens Computers in Munich and in 2004
he joined the University of Bradford as Head of Marketing and
Communications. His particular areas of expertise include: Internal
Communications, Brand/Corporate Identity Management, Development
of Marketing Strategy, Market Research and Campaign Planning.
Ashar has had articles published in Education Marketing and
in 2000 conducted research into ‘Integrated Marketing
Communications’ and its application in Higher Education marketing.
He has also presented at HEERA/CASE and various national
conferences for marketeers in Higher Education.
To contact Ashar please call: (01902 32) 2719 or e-mail:
A.Ehsan@wlv.ac.uk
Marketing Assistant Appointed In
Business Development And Enterprise
> Steve Male joined the Department
of Business Development and Enterprise
(BDE) in September 2007 as Marketing
Assistant. His role is to support the
marketing staff in BDE including
assisting with the website.
He comes fresh from studying at
Bangor University where he gained a
BSc Hons degree in Psychology, the
third year of which he spent studying
consumer behaviour. He also worked for the local volunteering
group where he helped produce promotional materials and
organise events to help raise money for charity.
Steve comes from Kidderminster and has a great interest
in acting and music.
To contact Steve please call: (01902 82) 4295 or e-mail:
Steven.Male@wlv.ac.uk
New Research & External Funding
Co-ordinator For School Of Art And Design
> Claire Cox joined the School of Art
and Design in October 2007 as Research
& External Funding Co-ordinator. Claire
previously worked for Nottingham Trent
University as the Operations Manager
within their Enterprise Development
Centre – The Hive. She was responsible
for teaching, mentoring and supporting
start up businesses from the alumni and
existing students of Nottingham Trent.
Claire has a degree in Clothing Studies with Textiles from
Nottingham Trent University and spent four years at Sara Lee
Courtaulds as Raw Material Development Manager. She returned
to Nottingham Trent as Project Co-ordinator for two major
research projects before taking over as Operations Manager
at The Hive, Nottingham Trent’s incubator unit.
She is keen to work collaboratively with partners from both
within the University and the public and private sectors to
further develop the excellent resources within the School of
Art and Design.
To contact Claire please call: (01902 32) 1908 or e-mail:
C.Cox@wlv.ac.uk
Marketing Officer Joins School
Of Legal Studies
> Jonathan Cheek joined the School of
Legal Studies as Marketing Officer in
September 2007. His role includes
co-ordinating all the marketing activities
of the School as well as external schools
and colleges liaison.
Jonathan is a Business Law graduate
with marketing experience from working
on projects with Panasonic and Toshiba.
Jonathan also has experience of working
in higher education from previous employment in student
representation at UCE Birmingham.
Jonathan is enrolled on the Chartered Institute of Marketing
Professional Diploma course at the University of Wolverhampton’s
Business School.
To contact Jonathan please call: (01902 32) 1583 or e-mail:
J.Cheek@wlv.ac.uk
University Gives Boost To Breakfast Club
> Membership of a business networking club in Wolverhampton has increased by
21% since the University of Wolverhampton took over joint chairmanship with the
Royal Bank of Scotland earlier this year.
Nigel Babb and Karen Johnson, both Business Development Managers from the
Department of Business Development and Enterprise, were delighted to take on the
running of the Wolverhampton Business Breakfast Club in April along with Rob Jones
of the Royal Bank of Scotland and welcomed the challenge of taking the club forward.
“Since taking on the role, the number of people attending the club has increased by 25%,
we have surveyed the members and as a result added a promotional literature table and
two slots at each meeting for members to promote themselves. In the future we hope
to continue to increase attendance at the club and produce a member directory”,
said Nigel Babb.
The Wolverhampton Business Breakfast Club is an independent networking club that
attracts a diverse range of businesses who are based in or whose customers are in
Wolverhampton. It meets on the first Wednesday of every month from
7.00am – 8.45am at the Quality Hotel in Wolverhampton.
For more information please contact Karen Johnson on:
(01902 82) 4013 or e-mail: karen.johnson@wlv.ac.uk
PHOTO:
Nigel Babb and
Karen Johnson.
2

Funding update
FUNDING
FAQs
QUESTION: What is GOWM?
ANSWER: Government Office for the West Midlands (GOWM) works to
deliver, influence and develop government programmes and initiatives in
the region. It helps direct and plan investment of EU Structural Funds.
PROGRAMME
OF EVENTS
Vice-Chancellor Nominated For Women Of The Year Awards
> Professor Caroline Gipps was one of six finalists
selected for the 2007 Vitalise Women of the Year
Awards. Caroline was presented with her certificate
at the Awards Ceremony in October 2007 at the
Hilton Metropole Hotel in Birmingham. Rosemary
Connelly was guest speaker at the ceremony which
was attended by approximately 800 women.
The Vitalise Women of the Year Awards
highlight successful female role models in
University Rides High
At Leather Museum
> The University’s Centre of Engineering Excellence
(CEE) recently opened an exciting exhibition at the
Leather Museum in Walsall.
The exhibition, ‘Saddled Up – Technology and
Saddle-Making in the 21st Century’ highlights how
the University has developed and applied new
technology to solve manufacturing problems in order
to give local firms a competitive advantage.
The University’s latest research project, Innotrad,
has involved work with Walsall companies on the test
and measurement of load or pressure distribution,
known as ‘pressure mapping’, of the rider and saddle
on a horse’s back.
The exhibition will run throughout December.
For more information please call Andrew Barnett on:
(01902 83) 7556 or e-mail: andrew@cenengex.co.uk
PHOTO – left to right: Chris Wan (visitor), Abdul Noibi (SEBE,
Postgraduate Researcher) and Andrew Barnett (CEE).
University Takes The Wind Out
Of Fencing
> An inventor has worked with experts within the
University to develop an innovative new device that
stops fence panels rattling in the wind.
‘Constricta’ is a fence panel clamp designed to
keep wooden fence panels steady on a windy day.
Glen Simister, an inventor from Manchester,
realised a personal ambition in seeing his innovation
launched in a selection of builders’ merchants around
the country.
Glen was assisted in developing the product by
the Caparo Innovation Centre (CIC) at the University.
It has now been put into production by CMT
Engineering of Cradley Heath, which has licensed
the rights to the patented invention.
For more information, please contact
Andrew Pollard on: (01902 82) 4182 or e-mail:
A.Pollard@wlv.ac.uk
Manufacturing Club Continues Successful Business Assistance
> The West Midlands Manufacturing Club at the
University’s Centre of Engineering Excellence is
celebrating the continued success of its business
assistance programme.
Over 28 manufacturing companies from across
the West Midlands saw a dramatic increase in their
productivity as a result of the support of the
Manufacturing Club in the last year.
The cumulative total for sales safeguarded,
as a result of Manufacturing Club’s assistance,
was an impressive £6.5 million during 2006.
business and encourage women to make the most
of their potential.
As part of the process Caroline was asked to
describe her role, provide details of her personal
achievements and give a resumé of previous jobs
and educational background.
For more information about the awards, please
contact Beryl Feely on: (01902 32) 2102 or e-mail:
B.P.Feely@wlv.ac.uk
PHOTO: Glen Simister with the fence panel clamp.
Companies receiving assistance from the
Manufacturing Club also reported 211 jobs
safeguarded, with 27 new jobs forecast for 2007
because of improvement activities.
Alec Gillham, Manufacturing Club Operations
Manager commented “I’m delighted with the results
achieved by companies participating in our business
assistance programme.”
For further information on the West Midlands
Manufacturing Club please contact Alec Gillham on:
(01902 83) 7553 or e-mail: alec@cenengex.co.uk
DECEMBER 2007
05/12/07 – 9.00am-2.00pm
FP7 Information Day
Wolverhampton Science Park
ACADEMIC STAFF
JANUARY 2008
09/01/08 – 7.30am-9.30am
IIE Business Matters:
Health & Safety and Fire
Risk Assessment
Wolverhampton Science Park
FOR COMPANIES
23/01/08 – 5pm onwards
Public lecture –
Holocaust Memorial Day
Speaker: Gabor Hirsch
MC Building, City Campus
ALL (FREE TICKET REQUIRED)
29/01/08 – 10:00am-12:00pm
LEAD: Inspirational
Leadership Seminar
Speaker: Simon Woodroffe
Wolverhampton Science Park
FOR STAFF
FEBRUARY 2008
06/02/08 – 6pm onwards
Public lecture – Survival:
how do organisms survive?
Speaker: Prof Michael Brown
MC Building, City Campus
FOR ALL
MARCH 2008
05/03/08 – 7.30am-9.30am
IIE Business Matters:
Disability Discrimination Act –
Issues and Challenges to SMEs
Wolverhampton Science Park
FOR COMPANIES
12/03/08 – 7:30am-9:30am
Knowledge Transfer
Partnership Business
Breakfast Seminar
Worcestershire County
Museum, Hartlebury
FOR COMPANIES
13/03/08
Every Child Matters
Conference
Wolverhampton Science Park
FOR ALL
3

Sales of the EquiAmi horse training aid
have been steadily increasing over the
past 4 months on the back of continuing
good coverage in magazines and positive
feedback from a number of independent
field test assessments. This includes a
year long use of the device at the
Hartpury Equine Veterinary and Therapy
Centre, which found the training aid
extremely useful in its work with
sick horses.
The terms of a licensing deal have been
agreed with a UK medical products
company giving them the exclusive rights
to exploit products utilising the blood clot
removal device developed by Dr Gillian
Pearce and Rev Neil Perkinson. Further
prototypes are being produced through
this company, which will lead to
independent testing of the device in 2008.
The baby learning aid developed by
Dr Elvidina Adamson-Macedo was
licensed to Wolverhampton-based
Medical Design Technologies International
Limited in October with the aim of
offering it to the NHS and other
healthcare organisations.
The learning aid is set to enable both
pre-term and full-term babies to start
learning soon after they are born.
Full details of the device cannot be
revealed yet due to patent regulations
but the aim is to launch the baby learning
aid early in 2008.
Patents’ Update
INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY &
TECHNOLOGY
TRANSFER
NEWS
> The search results for the UK patent
application of the bed-transporting device
were encouraging with only one patent
cited. Discussions are planned with the
Royal Society for the Prevention of
Accidents (RoSPA) and NHS health
and safety contacts to get endorsements
for the device.
The design registration of the baby
learning aid in Europe has been
completed without any problems.
The patent protecting the horse training
aid has moved from the worldwide PCT
phase into the national phase with filing of
UK, European and US patent applications.
If you have an idea that you would
like to develop, please telephone:
(01902 32) 3922 or e-mail:
ipoffice@wlv.ac.uk
Official Opening For £7million Business Centre
> An innovative business centre that has
boosted Telford’s economy has officially
opened at the University’s Telford campus.
The £7 million e-Innovation Centre (e-IC)
provides state-of-the-art office
accommodation and business support for
new and established companies.
Government Minister Sees
Benefit Of University Project
> Minister of State for Science and Innovation
and Dudley South MP, Ian Pearson, has
recently visited a company in Brierley Hill to
see how working with a local university has
helped to save jobs, create new jobs and
increase sales.
The University of Wolverhampton’s Institute
for Innovation and Enterprise (IIE) was
contacted by Creativity International as it had
identified a need for market research and
product development.
Creativity International is a leading supplier
of wholesale stationery as well as craft
supplies in the UK. However, in order to
maintain its market position, the company was
looking for support to analyse the craft market
and to develop new and existing products.
IIE was able to help through the West
Midlands Technology Network (WMTN). As a
result, the company has benefited substantially
with 4 jobs safeguarded, 6 new jobs created
and new product sales generated so far this
year of £135,000.
Rob Ireland, Managing Director, comments:
“A number of interesting conclusions were
drawn from this project and as a result, we
decided on a couple of new strategic directions.
One was to develop a jewellery-making range,
which we have now launched and the other
was to further concentrate on card-making in
the retail sector. One of the other outcomes
was the emphasis upon merchandising in
retailing and with the assistance of the project,
More then 100 guests celebrated the Centre’s
outstanding success at an official opening by
John Edwards, Chief Executive of Advantage
West Midlands and the University’s Vice
Chancellor Professor Caroline Gipps.
The building, which includes incubation units
for start-up companies and ‘grow on’ space,
is nearing full occupancy and is home to more
than 40 companies. The e-IC team has also
assisted 70 companies with IT, business and
marketing consultancy and helped nurture
29 new businesses and create 43 new jobs.
Speaking at the event, John Edwards, said:
“The West Midlands has a rich heritage of
innovation and a bright future based on our
ability to exploit new ideas and technologies.”
“The e-IC is a superb example of innovative
excellence in the region and is home to some
very progressive companies which are a credit
to the area.”
For more information please contact
Lynsey Jones on: 01952 288206 or e-mail:
Lynsey.Jones@wlv.ac.uk
PHOTO: Caroline Gipps and John Edwards.
PHOTO – left to right: Rob Ireland, Managing Director,
Creativity International Ltd, Ian Pearson MP and
Clive Bailey, Chairman, Creativity International Ltd.
we identified local suppliers of merchandising
systems and set about creating a licensed
product merchandiser and jewellery-making
merchandising spinner.”
Ian Pearson found the WMTN to be an
excellent example of an initiative which is
delivering to businesses and commented:
“It is listening to the specific needs of firms
such as Creativity International Ltd and
providing a tailored and practical response.
There is great potential for more firms to
both address their current challenges and
innovate for the future by taking advantage
of the expertise in the region’s universities
and centres of excellence.”
For more information please contact
Tori Greaves on: (01902 32) 3802 or email:
Tori.Greaves@wlv.ac.uk
Design by creativebrew.co.uk
DEPARTMENT OF
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
AND ENTERPRISE
Wolverhampton Science Park, Glaisher Drive, Wolverhampton, WV10 9RU
Telford Campus, Priorslee Hall, Shifnal Road, Priorslee, Telford, TF2 9NT
Walsall Campus, Gorway Road, Walsall, WS1 3BD
Telephone: 0800 068 5023
E-mail: competitiveness-centre@wlv.ac.uk
Website: www.competitiveness-centre.co.uk 4