Invitation to East Midlands engineers could bring new business opportunities

Engineers in the East Midlands are being invited to take part in a free event that will give them the chance to demonstrate how their skills could help the region’s food and drink businesses overcome production challenges.

The Food and Drink Innovation Network (iNet) is staging an iShowcase event on March 23rd which aims to bring together engineers and food producers from around the region.

Organised under the Championing Innovation between the Engineering and Food Sectors (ChIEFS) project, it’s an opportunity for engineers to meet food processors, understand their needs and explain how their businesses could help design and create innovative solutions to problems experienced by food firms.

The event, which is being held at East Midlands Conference Centre, University Park, Nottingham, from 1pm to 5pm, is part of a day of Innovation Showcase events organised by the Food and Drink iNet, which encourages innovation in the sector by providing support and promoting and co-ordinating innovation activity for businesses, universities and individuals working in the food and drink sector in the East Midlands.

Funded by East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Food and Drink iNet is one of four regional iNets that has developed an effective network to link academic and private sector expertise and knowledge with local food and drink business innovation needs.

In the morning, the iNet will be holding a Get Connected session for food and drink firms which will focus on the current support and funding for innovation that’s available in the East Midlands, illustrate how firms could become part of the innovation network in the region, and provide an update on key industry issues.

This is followed by a session in the afternoon for engineers and food businesses, which will introduce the ChIEFS project, give examples of successful collaborations between engineering firms and food and drink businesses that have already occurred, and provide an update on the latest advances in hygienic design.

“The ChIEFS project aims to develop the East Midlands’ position as a leading region for food process engineering, and this event for engineers will provide the perfect opportunity for them to meet local food producers, discover the challenges that they face, and hopefully team up to jointly develop some innovative solutions,” said Richard Worrall, interim director of the Food and Drink iNet.

“In the past, the ChIEFS project has helped several engineering and food businesses to create mutually beneficial business relationships, and this event could be the springboard for future successful links. We hope that as many engineering firms in the region as possible take advantage of this free opportunity.”

To book a free place at the iShowcase event or for more information, call 0115 9758810, or visit the events section of www.eminnovation.org.uk/food

The Food and Drink iNet aims to build on the tradition of innovation in the food and drink industry in the region by helping to create opportunities to develop knowledge and skills, and to help research, develop and implement new products, markets, services and processes. It is managed by a consortium, led by the Food and Drink Forum and including Food Processing Faraday, Nottingham Trent University, the University of Lincoln, and the University of Nottingham. It is based at Southglade Food Park, Nottingham, with advisors covering the East Midlands region.

For more information visit www.eminnovation.org.uk/food


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