Innovate UK

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We know innovators are always thirsty for knowledge and the latest intelligence. At Innovate UK, we believe in the power of diverse perspectives to drive innovation, spark dialogue, and inspire change. Our podcasts are dedicated to sharing thought-provoking perspectives, expert opinions, and industry analysis that illuminate key trends, challenges, and opportunities in a range of sectors and in the innovation ecosystem. Innovate UK is the UK’s innovation agency. It works to create a better future by inspiring, involving and investing in businesses developing life-changing innovations. Its mission is to help companies to grow through their development and commercialisation of new products, processes and services, supported by an outstanding innovation ecosystem that is agile, inclusive and easy to navigate. Innovate UK Business Connect is the new name for Innovate UK KTN, part of the Innovate UK System. For more information on how you can get support or join us at one of our events, visit our website https://iuk.ktn-uk.org/ or contact us on enquiries@iuk.ktn-uk.org. read less
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Episodes

KTN Age Innovators - Episode 4: Activating Our Ageing Population
Mar 27 2024
KTN Age Innovators - Episode 4: Activating Our Ageing Population
Innovate UK’s Knowledge Transfer Manager, Karen Wilkinson, introduces listeners to leading researchers and innovators whose work has the potential to support us as we age.   Brought to you by the Healthy Ageing Challenge Community of Practice, hosted by Innovate UK, this series spotlights the pioneering innovations being developed to shape the future of our longevity and explores the inspiration behind the work that’s currently taking place.   Episode 4: Activating Our Ageing Population  How can technology and innovation support us as we age? And how on earth might they make someone’s kitchen bigger? In this episode of The Age Innovators, host Julia Glenn, Design Innovation Lead from the Innovate UK Healthy Ageing Challenge, talks to John Hymus, MD of Innerva - the healthy ageing, therapy, and rehabilitation solution, to explore these questions and more.  Bringing intelligent technology into the care market Innerva is a UK-based designer and manufacturer of power-assisted exercise and wellbeing equipment, which provides a ‘helping hand’ in a low impact, full-body workout circuit for exercisers who demand to work smart and effectively.   Innerva users include the over 65s and people living with disabilities, those with poor mobility, people with long-term health conditions and those in need of rehabilitation therapies.   Join Julia and John as they discuss how Innerva's exercise equipment works, the benefits of isokinetic strength training in rehabilitation, and the company's mission to promote healthy and active aging. John will walk you through the practical aspects, providing insights into how Innerva aims to help people improve their daily movement.  Learn how digitising exercise equipment is enabling data capture and gamification, the importance of co-design and testing the user experience in live environments, and why the Innerva team is continually iterating to produce equipment that’s both engaging and effective.   John also reveals the five elements of healthy ageing, the research methodologies encouraging a community of people to exercise together, and the power of social wellbeing to combat loneliness and drive behaviour change. Oh, and he reveals the secret to the expanding kitchen too.  Click here to download the episode transcript.
KTN Age Innovators - Episode 3: The Medicine of Cricket
Mar 20 2024
KTN Age Innovators - Episode 3: The Medicine of Cricket
Episode 3 — The Medicine of Cricket  Can sport break down the barriers around ethnicity, age, and gender? In this, the third episode of Age Innovators, host Helen Crampin, Innovation and Technology Lead from the Innovate UK Healthy Ageing Challenge, talks to Alosh K Jose, co-founder and CEO of Newcastle-based Cricketqube, to explore this question and more.   Cricketqube is an evidence- and data-backed Community Interest Company. The company’s aim is to make cricket accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds. Founders Anish John— a former international indoor cricketer who has represented India at the senior level—and former schools cricketer, Alosh K Jose, identified that the older South Asian members of their local community in Newcastle lacked access to accessible—and affordable–activities that could maintain and increase their health and fitness.   “When there is a financial crisis, paying for physical activity is one of the first things to be cut. The South Asian community in the UK, especially Bangladeshis and Pakistanis, have the lowest median income across any ethnic group in the UK, so paying for activities is out of the question.” - Alosh K Jose, co-founder and CEO of Cricketqube  With their understanding of the different cultural nuances, religious sentiments, and connections within the wider South Asian community, Cricketqube has tailored an innovative programme that’s successfully encouraging their target audience to participate in games of cricket as a way to stay fit and well.   “I wanted to democratise access to cricket and make sure anyone who wants to can play, whether they’ve got access to a club or don’t have the hundreds of pounds you need to buy the kit.” - Alosh K Jose, co-founder and CEO of Cricketqube  Discover how Alosh and Anish’s approach has managed to change people’s perceptions and behaviours within the South Asian community.  Listen to how they’ve nurtured a growing community space where people of all ages and from all religions and subcultures are sharing skills, sharing food, and making new friends and connections.  And learn how evidence and data from the project and its resulting collaborations are driving new and similar projects—including the development of an app—to ensure exercise and activity is accessible and available to minority communities across the UK.  Click here to download the episode transcript.
Age Innovators - Episode 2: Supporting Healthy Ageing At Work
Mar 6 2024
Age Innovators - Episode 2: Supporting Healthy Ageing At Work
In this episode of ‘Age Innovators’, Innovate UK’s Knowledge Transfer Manager, Karen Wilkinson, introduces listeners to leading researchers and innovators whose work has the potential to support us as we age.   Brought to you by the Healthy Ageing Challenge Community of Practice, hosted by Innovate UK, this series spotlights the pioneering innovations being developed to shape the future of our longevity and explores the inspiration behind the work that’s currently taking place.   Supporting Healthy Ageing at Work  In today’s older workforce, the fact that one in three people is aged 50 or over poses myriad issues for our economy, social wellbeing, and our health and wellbeing. With around 20% of people in their fifties retiring before they choose to because of health issues, this episode of Age Innovators explores whether a deeper understanding and the provision of more practical and relevant support could help to change that statistic.  Our host Elaine Douglas, Associate Professor in Ageing at the University of Stirling, talks to Wendy Loretto, Professor of Organisational Behaviour, and Dr Belinda Steffan, Senior Research Fellow both from the SHAW project at the University of Edinburgh Business School (UEBS) and to Mike Douglas, Director of Age Scotland.  The SHAW project (Supporting Healthy Ageing at Work) at UEBS is exploring how we might extend healthy ageing in the workplace so that workers have a high quality of working life for longer. The project is inviting employers, employees, professional bodies, and other key stakeholders to come together with the aim of deepening our understanding of how best to support, enable, and empower people over 50 to remain in work.  We hear how the project’s research into the impact of hidden health issues like the muscular skeletal impact of sedentary work, cognitive ageing and decline, and menopause is leading to the development of practical help, including:   The launch of a new research-based app with an AI chatbot interface that will give the over-50s a better understanding of their health and empower employees to ask for the support they need from their managers. A co-designed diagnostic menopause support tool which aims to reduce the number of women leaving work due to challenging menopause symptoms and improve workplace culture around menopause awareness.  “The first thing that comes to my mind when imagining the ideal future workplace for an older worker? More individualised support to support a range of both visible and hidden health factors—and a reduction in the tension around discussing heath issues and the removal of taboo and stigma as we increase awareness.” - Belinda Steffan, Senior Research Fellow at The University of Edinburgh Business School  You’ll discover how the provision of a safe platform can be the key to unlocking powerful conversations in the workplace around sensitive or taboo issues. Learn how the ongoing research has already identified the important role line managers can play in supporting people’s health. And find out how a training course developed by Age Scotland is upskilling employers to have the conversations needed to create more inclusive and supportive workplace cultures.  The team’s person-centric approach is breaking down barriers and beginning to transform older people’s experiences at work for the better, enabling people to better understand—and communicate—their health support needs.   “We’re all different, and those differences become more apparent as we age. Whether that’s the state of our health, our life circumstances, and how and when we choose to retire. We all have a role to play in challenging the myth of the ideal worker who’s always in peak health and is always productive. When it comes to policy, we need to move the conversation forward so we can accept people as they are and empower them to ask for the help they need to feel supported at work.” - Wendy Loretto, Professor of Organisational Behaviour at The University of Edinburgh
Silent Designers Episode 7 - Yasmin Ali, RWE
Feb 27 2024
Silent Designers Episode 7 - Yasmin Ali, RWE
Can design take us to unexpected places?   In this, seventh episode of Silent Designers, this month’s guest, Yasmin Ali, explores the theme of Net Zero and Sustainable Technologies, discusses the unexpected ways in which hydrogen could decarbonise our world, and reveals the most effective deployments of hydrogen happening in industry today.  Award-winning chartered engineer, Yasmin Ali, is a Hydrogen Project Development Manager at RWE—a leading supplier of renewables worldwide. She’s also the author of the book Power Up, which looks at global energy systems and the energy transition. Join us as Yasmin explains the impact of design on her work and her interpretation of the word ‘design’ and what it means to her.  “For many people, the word ‘design’ conjures up images of fashion or graphic design. I think of it more as a thinking process to come up with a way of solving a problem or achieving something that hasn’t been done before.”  - Yasmin Ali, Hydrogen Project Development Manager at RWE   Listen as Yasmin:  Explores the importance of habit change in the adoption of hydrogen as a renewable energy Explains how she applies design thinking to enhance her working relationships and communications Reveals why her love of the energy sector and of writing resulted in the publication of Power Up “It’s interesting to see what happens when you think about design differently and incorporate design thinking to creative problem solving.” - Yasmin Ali, Hydrogen Project Development Manager at RWE
Age Innovators - Episode 1: Language of Care
Feb 19 2024
Age Innovators - Episode 1: Language of Care
Introduction to the series In this new Innovate UK Business Connect podcast series, Age Innovators, we meet researchers and innovators whose work has the potential to support us as we age. Brought to you by the Healthy Ageing Challenge Community of Practice and hosted by Innovate UK, this series spotlights the pioneering innovations being developed to shape the future of our longevity and explores the inspiration behind the work that’s currently taking place.     Episode 1: Language of Care    Can we harness advances in innovation and technology and use them to support the needs of an ageing population? In this episode of Age Innovators, host Julia Glenn, former Innovate UK Design Innovation Lead for the UKRI Healthy Ageing Challenge, talks to Toby Venning and Caleb Adamu, co-founders of care coordination platform, Elate, to explore this question and more.    Bringing intelligent technology into the care market Developed by Cross Digital Ltd, Elate is an app that aims to help older people and their families navigate the complex world of care in all its forms using technology.    Elate’s co-founders, Toby Venning and Caleb Adamu, have applied co-design principles and the Design Council’s double diamond methodology to develop the app’s intelligent technology which meets the specific and evolving needs of the care sector.    “The catalyst for the project was listening to my own parents struggling to look after both sets of their own parents. Trying to understand their different needs, trying to work out the right care path, understanding the nuances of domestic and domiciliary care—and trying to do all that from a distance.”  Toby Venning, Elate co-founder and CEO    The language of care  Working with four user groups, including care providers, paid and unpaid care workers, people in need of care, and those peoples’ families and friends, Elate’s mission is to empower people to live with grace, joy, and dignity.     This is evident in their use of the Discover, Define, Develop, and Deliver stages of the double diamond. And their iterative approach has seen the adaptation of users’ language to ensure product specifications are accessible and fit for purpose.     The Elate app enables people to be proactive and design their own care pathway. It frees carers from repetitive paperwork, and enables carers to interact more with the person in their care.     “Improving the welfare of carers is very much at the forefront of what we’re trying to do—making their lives easier in terms of support with planning, assessments, and finding recommendations that best suit the end user’s needs.”  Caleb Adamu, elate co-founder and CTO    Discover how the sensitivity of Elate’s approach to technological innovation is helping people navigate the different types of care available for family members. And how their co-design process is working to promote both the needs of the person needing care—and their carers—in the care paradigm.    By integrating technology, data, analytics, and user-centered design, Elate is introducing people to personalised technology that’s designed for them and that will design the right sort of care to meet their needs—rather than forcing something to fit.
Silent Designers Episode 6 - Ahmed Wobi, Tonus Tech
Jan 22 2024
Silent Designers Episode 6 - Ahmed Wobi, Tonus Tech
How AI and design thinking are helping us live better for longer  In this, the sixth episode of Silent Designers, Steve Welch and guest, Ahmed Wobi, explore the theme of healthy living and tech.   Award winning writer, director—and national basketball champion, Ahmed Wobi, is also the co-founder of Tonus Tech. Tonus Tech provides preventative health companies with wearable solutions and AI-driven movement analysis and personalised workout programmes to optimise people's fitness age.  Ahmed and his team’s focus is on keeping people moving better for longer using sensors and artificial intelligence.   Join us as Ahmed explains how his academic medical background helped him apply creative design thinking to the early discovery stages of his formative research areas. How AI is enabling academics to manipulate large data sets – lowering the threshold for early exploration and encouraging greater experimentation. And the impact his experiences as a national basketball champion have had on his career.  “When you play sport at a formal level, you have to be able to make quick decisions and know how the members of your team will react. That translates to life in general but also to academia, entrepreneurism, and design, because there’s an iterative process in going back to concepts, in trial and error, and then in testing what works and what doesn’t.”  Ahmed Wobi, Co-founder of Tonus Tech  Listen as Ahmed shares:  ·         The positive implications AI tech holds for our better health and fitness   ·         Why it’s crucial to embed people from diverse backgrounds into early stage design processes   ·         The importance of user-focused design  “Design processes? They will take you on interesting journeys...”  Ahmed Wobi, Co-founder of Tonus Tech
Silent Designers Episode 5 - Mark Price, Biohaviour
Oct 25 2023
Silent Designers Episode 5 - Mark Price, Biohaviour
What role can design play in our journey to Net Zero?  In this fifth episode of Silent Designers, we explore the theme of net zero and sustainable technologies with guest, Mark Price.  A professor of Aeronautics at Queen's University Belfast, Mark Price is also the co-founder of Biohaviour, a research initiative exploring bio-inspired rules for innovative engineering design.  Biohavior aims to bring bio-inspired concepts and ideas into the realm of engineering design and cloud-based manufacturing within a single fully integrated environment.  “I’ve found that the decisions that design supports are absolutely critical, not just for products, but for businesses and organisations as a whole and beyond.”  Mark Price, Professor of Aeronautics at Queen's University Belfast  and co-founder of Biohaviour On making things better and making things differently Join us as Mark explains how the challenge of Net Zero has driven a shift in his thinking beyond his background as a systems engineer in the aircraft industry to his discovery that design thinking can help us challenge requirements, lessen constraints, and open up new paths to innovation. “When you innovate as an academic your inclination is to peel everything back, layer by layer and put foundational principles in place as you learn about the different frameworks. But it’s only then, as you begin to learn about a system, that you can open up different avenues of thought and start to explore new opportunities.” Mark Price, Professor of Aeronautics at Queen's University Belfast and co-founder of Biohaviour Listen as Mark shares: The understanding of foundational principles that can open up new avenues of thought The potential of bio-inspired systems to create new products, processes, and systems How design thinking can help us reach Net Zero And discover how the incorporation of design thinking in one’s own practice demands a high level of self-reflection and questioning. Click here to read the transcript. Click here to watch the episode on YouTube. Click here for the rest of the Silent Designers series.
Silent Designers Episode 4 - Tom Inns, Cofink
Sep 22 2023
Silent Designers Episode 4 - Tom Inns, Cofink
What role does design play in our healthcare systems?   In this fourth episode of Silent Designers, our guest Tom Inns explores the theme of healthy living and technologies. Tom is the director of the consultancy, Cofink, a visiting Professor at the University of Strathclyde, and a coach on the Innovate UK Design for Growth programme.  Join us as Tom explains his fascination with the role design can play in helping the silent designers within healthcare teams understand complex challenges, undertake the necessary phases of discovery, and innovate to deliver change.   “Each time I run a project I learn as much as the team about nudging and evolving our processes, tools, and methodologies. How we can push the boundaries and make collaborations happen.”  Tom Inns, Director of Cofink  Tom shares:  The powerful impact of design thinking approaches and ethnography in healthcare settings How mapping out a visual ecosystem of healthcare pathways creates a fantastic focus point for collaborations The real-life impact of healthcare innovation—in trumpet form  Want to learn how to apply design thinking to your own work?  In the second half of this episode, Tom also shares three simple yet fascinating new ways of looking at the world and how you can introduce design thinking into your own practice at work.   “If you take these three little pieces of mental gymnastics on board, you'll be motoring when it comes to design and systems thinking.”   Tom Inns, Director of Cofink Episode transcript: https://iuk.ktn-uk.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/KTN-Silent-Designers-Tom-Inns-Episode-4-Transcription.pdf Read more: https://iuk.ktn-uk.org/news/silent-designers-podcast-series/
Silent Designers episode 3 - Marie Williams, Dream Networks
Aug 28 2023
Silent Designers episode 3 - Marie Williams, Dream Networks
What happens when you bring children as young as seven together with businesses, senior designers, and architects and ask them to design a space to play?  The third episode of Silent Designers explores the theme of Knowledge Transfer and Design with guest Marie Williams — Chartered Engineer, Design Lecturer, TEDx speaker, and Founder of Social Enterprise, Dream Networks.  Join us as playful engineer, Marie Williams, explains what took her from a career in innovation across aerospace, nuclear fusion, and software engineering to launch a social enterprise, Dream Networks and her drive to address the need for more equitable access to play areas in socially deprived areas.  Marie explains:  ·       The impact of design on social or environmental value  ·       How children approach co-design and design thinking opportunities  ·       The importance of context and equity in effective knowledge transfer  “I think about one in eight children in the UK has no access to a garden and relies on public play areas. However, the data reveals that many of these children live in deprived areas that don’t have play spaces. So that's when design is the catalyst for change and a response to more than an economic need. It can be our response to growing social and environmental needs and problem sets.”  Marie Williams is a playful chartered engineer, design lecturer, TedX speaker, and CEO of Dream Networks.  She founded Dream Networks in 2016, and has collaborated with businesses, schools, and communities to co-design and build engaging play spaces in economically deprived communities worldwide. To date, Dream Networks has adopted sustainable design practices to create inclusive play spaces for over 60,000 children in the UK and Africa.   Click here to read the transcript.
Silent Designers Episode 2 - Cat Drew, Design Council
Jul 25 2023
Silent Designers Episode 2 - Cat Drew, Design Council
The second episode of Silent Designers explores the theme of Net Zero and Sustainable Technologies with guest Cat Drew, Chief Design Officer at the Design Council. Cat shares how, in her role, she’s bringing together the very best knowledge, practice, and frameworks about how to Design for Planet and sharing that knowledge with designers, innovators, commissioners, and policymakers.  “The Design Council’s vision is for a regenerative world for all. The way we’re way going to get there is for people in the design sector—all 1.79 million of us—to Design for Planet and help us make the shift from a consumer to a regenerative society.”  Join us as Cat explains:  The vital role people-centred design plays in the adoption of sustainable technologies, The importance of ‘new-to-me’ innovation on the path to Net Zero How she made the transition from policymaker to ‘Silent Designer’  An expert in Systemic Design, Cat started her career as a policymaker working across government and writing strategies for Number 10, the Home Office, and the Cabinet Office. Combining her 10 years of experience in Government with an MA in graphic design, she co-founded the UK Government’s Policy Lab. Cat has also held leadership positions in Uscreates and FutureGov, where she led programmes to make public services more user-centred and systemic in addressing local homelessness challenges.  Click here to download the episode transcript.
Silent Designers Episode 1 - Anna Wilson, 52 North
Jun 29 2023
Silent Designers Episode 1 - Anna Wilson, 52 North
Redefining Design Boundaries: Join us for the inaugural episode of 'Silent Designers' as Anna Wilson takes us on a captivating journey into the world of design. With a fresh and innovative approach, Anna showcases the true essence of design in its purest form, while also sharing her unexpected path into process design. Reflecting on her experiences, Anna reveals, "This doesn't work so well, let's come back to the drawing board and try to improve that. My main learning is that it's an iterative process and actually, it is never finished." Trained as a vet and now Head of Operations at 52North, a Cambridge-based Health Tech start-up, Anna is transforming triage for neutropenic sepsis, a critical complication of cancer chemotherapy. Additionally, as the founder of Tortoise, a digital health solution, she aims to support people in their recovery journey after injury. Discover the limitless possibilities of design as Anna shares her unique insights and challenges faced along the way. Tune in to be inspired by her multifaceted use of design. As part of our commitment to empowering innovators, we invite you to join the Design In Innovation Network (DIIN), a vibrant community of cross-sector innovators who are passionate about driving innovation outcomes. Our online platform serves as a collaborative hub, connecting you with sector experts and fostering meaningful engagements. Discover the vast potential of design and uncover new pathways to embed it into your own innovation journey. Join the community: https://designinnovationnetwork.ktn-uk.org/ Meet our hosts for the "Silent Designers" series Steve Welch Steve is half-engineer, half-scientist … all innovation! After a lengthy career in systems engineering applied to Spacecraft projects, he is now director of Innovate UK KTN’s activities in Knowledge Transfer, Place and Design. Steve has long appreciated the overlap between engineering and design and is always delighted by fresh ideas—especially the fresh ideas that pay-off: and that’s where this series comes from. Katherine Wildman Katherine is a B2B copywriter working with multinational businesses on projects that can involve anything from video scripts and tone of voice development to marketing campaigns and case studies. Katherine is interested where innovative ideas come from. What was the actual problem our guests identified and how they went about solving the challenge they faced?