On May 17th, Professor Rick Delbridge spoke about the innovation landscape in Wales, including the Challenge Fund programme, at “Science and the Senedd 2022”. Kellie Beirne, Chief Executive of the Cardiff Capital Region City Deal, was also amongst speakers.
Professor Delbridge’s talk, titled “Developing the Welsh Innovation Ecosystem”, tackled the topic of innovation in Wales from a variety of angles.
“There were a number of key points that speakers including myself and Kellie touched on, for example with regard to the importance of skills and the wider innovation commons in an innovation ecosystem, the need for ‘business-led’ innovation and ‘innovation-led’ research as a complement to ‘blue skies’ research, the opportunity for the public sector to convene and direct innovation activity through missions and challenges, and the importance of collaboration in driving local impact under the levelling up agenda”, said Professor Delbridge.
“Science and the Senedd” is an event organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry for and with the Welsh science and engineering community. The theme for 2022 was “Building our Future: Research and Innovation in Wales.” The full list of speakers can be found on the website of the Royal Society of Chemistry.