SHARING KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND EXPERTISE

Loughborough has a long tradition of fruitful and multi-faceted industrial collaboration. Bringing in an average of £1.6 million a year from consultancy, royalties and business incubation facilities, the University excels in building strong relationships with both multinationals and small to medium sized local businesses, and enjoys an enviable track record for entrepreneurship.

Successful Spin Outs
In a climate where commercialisation activities are flourishing throughout the HE sector, a UK technology transfer survey has revealed Loughborough to be the most efficient operator, outstripping Oxford and Cambridge universities and Imperial College London. This Annual Survey on University Technology Transfer Activities is the first study of its kind to provide benchmarks for commercialisation activities in the UK and enables a direct comparison with other countries.

Spin out company Laser Optical Engineering testing toy safety

Loughborough is one of the most prolific universities in the UK for spin-out formation, with one of the highest start-up rates for companies per research pound. Eight new businesses were set up in 2002-03, bringing the total now established to 23. New companies developed this year include Hazid Technologies Ltd, which is helping chemical processing plants to become safer and more effective, with its newly-developed computer aid called HAZID. The pioneering technology will help designers and plant operators to spot hazards such as fires or chemical leaks during the planning stage, before they arise when the plant is operating. Established companies have also continued from strength to strength. Formed in 1996, Laser Optical Engineering is now playing a key role in toy safety by testing for potentially harmful radiation levels from lasers and light emitting diodes (LEDs).

Working in Partnership
A prestigious new £59 million centre is set to establish Loughborough as one of country’s leading centres for engineering excellence. The Systems Engineering Innovation Centre (SEIC), which will be housed at the newly-acquired Holywell Park on campus, is a collaborative venture involving BAE SYSTEMS, East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and Loughborough University. Its aim is to improve the engineering skills of manufacturing companies throughout both the region and the UK, helping them to become more globally competitive. Firms from a wide range of industrial sectors will benefit from the SEIC, which will offer businesses access to some of the country’s best engineering expertise and state-of-the-art research facilities. The centre became fully operational during the first half of 2003 and will create around 70 new jobs.

A ‘Kick-Start’ to Healthier Eating
Leading breakfast cereal brand Kellogg’s enlisted the expertise of Dr Robin Hooper from Human Sciences to scientifically prove that its new healthy eating initiative could help to lose fat and inches. Acting as an independent consultant for the national Kellogg’s Kick-Start campaign, Dr Hooper assessed the change in body shape associated with moderate weight loss in relation to dietary restriction. Participants in the UK trial lost more than 3/4 inch on average from around their waist and experienced girth reductions from all over the body, while 38 per cent dropped a whole trouser size.

Dr Robin Hooper helps to test the Kellogg’s Kick-Start initiative

Developing Safer Mobile Communication
The Centre for Mobile Communications Research (CMCR) has made some major breakthroughs in its antenna technology that could enable safer communication for all. With the increased sensitivity to electromagnetic radiation and its potentially harmful effects, there is a growing demand for low visibility antennas for use in high population density environments. CMCR has developed a commercially available lightweight dual band stealthy antenna that meets stringent industrial and environmental specifications. Innovative prototyping, computer modelling techniques and design optimisations that can be completed in just a few days have put Loughborough at the forefront of low SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) technology for the telecom industry. SAR is the parameter that measures the amount of radiation from mobile phone handsets absorbed by human tissue. CMCR's research to develop low profile base station antennas and low emission handset antennas has attracted £1 million in research contracts to date.

Boosting Student Innovation
Business-minded students Matthew Young, Richard Mulley, Andulai Dumbuya, John Airey and Stephen Nelson were able to kick-start their novel ideas thanks to a new initiative aimed at encouraging student entrepreneurship at the earliest stages when funding is of crucial importance. Launched with funds from the University’s Development Trust, the Student Innovation and Enterprise Fellowship scheme provides students with a generous cash award and a comprehensive support package. The students also benefit from reduced rate rent-a-desk space at the Loughborough Innovation Centre. The initiative strengthens the growing network of support that the University has established to boost student innovation.

A Future Business Leader
Design and Technology graduate Stuart Wright was selected as a Business Leader of Tomorrow by the TCS – a government-funded scheme that allows business to access the UK’s skills and resources by enabling high quality graduates to work in companies on technology transfer projects. The award scheme, held for the first time in 2002, aims to recognise graduates who demonstrate potential as future business leaders. Stuart was employed at Nottinghamshire-based firm Rototek Ltd.

"Stuart initially had responsibility for four design projects; a year later this had increased to sixteen. He also showed his ability and willingness to develop new skills, becoming manager of Rototek’s web site, with no previous experience of web design – his efforts have quadrupled the hits on the company’s site resulting in a significant increase in new business," said Martin Spencer, Rototek’s managing director.

A ‘Green’ Partnership
A group of Design and Technology students helped to create a ‘greener’ future by launching a new initiative to encourage businesses to assess the environmental impact of the products they design. Part of an ongoing campaign to encourage local and national companies to provide ‘real-life’ projects and industrial placements for talented design students, the pioneering scheme allowed one student, finalist Dan Collins, to put his eco-design skills to use during his year in industry with Bombardier Transportation. Tasked with investigating the environmental impact of the components that make up the company’s vehicle interiors, it gave Dan a valuable insight into the future of sustainable design.

A ‘Cool’ Guitar
Researchers in Design and Technology have formed a spinout company, Cool Acoustics Ltd, to develop innovative, high quality acoustic guitars manufactured almost entirely from polymers. The inventors have accelerated their R&D with £110,000 of funding from NESTA (National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts), HEROBC (Higher Education Reach Out to Business and Community) and Loughborough University’s Gatsby Innovation Fellowship scheme. The patented polymer technology has attracted considerable interest from industry and musicians. It is hoped that it will revolutionise the way guitars and other musical instruments will be designed and manufactured in the future, by lowering manufacturing costs, maintaining excellent sound quality, and opening-up opportunities for striking new designs and finishes.

Professional guitar maker Rob Armstrong and guitarist Gordon Giltrap are helping to develop and commercialise spin out company Cool Acoustics Ltd’s instruments

Fledgling Firms Flock to Award-Winning Centre
Young companies have flocked to Loughborough Innovation Centre – the region’s largest business incubator unit, which offers 40,000ft2 of office and workshop space for up to forty fledgling companies. The purpose-designed facility opened in September 2002, following a successful £0.75m funding bid to emda, and achieved 100% occupancy within nine months. A fundraising campaign has also generated £75,000 of generous donations from local businesses and private donors. The Centre, which was recently presented with the UK Business Incubation Ltd’s (UKBI) Best Newcomer Award, now has a collective workforce of just under one hundred. Tenants include University spin out companies, two Loughborough student start-up businesses, and young and growing companies from the East Midlands and beyond.

The opportunities afforded by the Centre are backed by an extensive support network for local businesses and entrepreneurs: LATI (Loughborough Advanced Technology Initiative), a free of charge business networking, mentoring and support organisation, continues to forge links throughout the region’s business community, driving forward technology, growth and innovation in the East Midlands; and Loughborough Enterprise Club (LEC) offers support to its increasing membership of local start-up companies, spin-outs, entrepreneurs and innovators in the region by providing a regular forum in which companies and individuals can meet and exchange ideas.

Exceeding Expectations
Despite increased competition, Loughborough’s campus and facilities continued to attract a variety of external conferences and events. The University’s Conference and Events Office enjoyed an increase in bookings, while Burleigh Court, Loughborough’s purpose-built four-star training and conference centre, had a buoyant year, producing higher than expected surpluses despite an adverse economic climate, and excellent results in an independent customer satisfaction survey. The formation of imago – a new venture offering quality conferencing and events and the most extensive sport and leisure facilities in the UK – will enable Loughborough to develop still further its key role in the conferencing industry.

Mortgages with ‘Honours’
Local building society The Loughborough has joined forces with the University in a ground-breaking business partnership deal. Over a twelve month period, for every mortgage taken out with The Loughborough by a student, alumnus, member of staff or their immediate family, the building society have donated £100 to the Loughborough University Development Trust – a registered charity that helps to support student projects and initiatives.