CREATIVE, DIGITAL
& DESIGN BUSINESS
DIGEST
January 2018
A monthly round-up of useful information
for UK businesses seeking business support
@ktnuk

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Main Feature
Innovate UK funding calls
Funding Competitions
Upcoming Events
Investment
Latest News
Contents

Main Feature
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It’s a rather gloomy perspective to take at the beginning of a New Year,
but one potential scenario for 2018 is that the geo-political outlook for
the next 12 months will become even more confrontational, chaotic and
unpredictable than it was in the last.
The View from Here: From cybersecurity to internet
connectivity, our 2018 predictions.

Open sector competition round 4
Closes: 28 February 2018
Funding
Innovate UK is investing £19 million in this competition.
Open to the best business-led cutting-edge or disruptive
ideas or concepts with a view to commercialisation,
ideas can come from any technology (including arts,
design, media or creative industries) and apply to any part
of the economy.
CLICK TO FIND OUT MORE

November 2017 sector competition: strand 1
Manufacturing and Materials
Closes: 31 Jan 2018
Funding
Innovate UK is to invest up to £19 million to support
innovation across the manufacturing and materials and
Infrastructure systems sectors. Funded projects will
target opportunities that offer significant changes in
productivity and cutting-edge innovations.
CLICK TO FIND OUT MORE

£19m Available in Innovate UK's January Sector Health &
Life Sciences, and Emerging & Enabling Competition
Closes: 07 Feb 2018
Funding
Innovate UK is investing up to £19 million to support innovation
that offers significant changes in productivity and cutting-edge
innovation. The competition has 2 strands, strand 1 is for health
and life sciences projects and strand 2 is for emerging and
enabling technologies projects. A further £12 million is available
to fund Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs).
CLICK TO FIND OUT MORE

Upcoming Events
Tue 23 January, London
Building the European digital
health environment – Turning best
practice into mainstreamed
implementation!
Thur 25 January, Exeter
Beyond the business as usual:
Innovate UK in the South West
Mon, 22 Jan, London | Wed, 24
Jan, Edinburgh | Mon, 29 Jan,
Cardiff | Thu, 8 Feb, Leeds
Health and Life Sciences and
Emerging and Enabling
Technologies Round 4
Competition Briefing Event
25 Jan - 27 Mar - Regional
Innovate UK’s regional events
Thur 15 Feb, London
Digital Business Drop-in

Upcoming Events
Tue 27 Mar, Exeter
Innovation South Showcase
Tue 20 Feb, Manchester
Digital Business Drop-in

Investment
Digital Refer now includes more than 250 organisations that provide
private investment to Digital and Creative businesses in the UK,
including:
Accelerator Programmes
Business Incubators
Start-up Studios
Venture Capital Funds
Angel Investor Networks
Corporate Venture Capital firms
CLICK TO FIND OUT MORE
Private Investment Directory

Latest News
FIND OUT MORE
Major funding opportunity for
the UK's creative industries
As part of its Industrial Strategy, the
Government has announced a major
funding opportunity for the UK's creative
industries, with the potential for a £33m
challenge fund, "Audience of the
Future", looking at how UK businesses
and researchers can develop new VR/AR
products, services and experiences that
will capture the world’s attention and
position the UK as the global leader in
immersive technologies.

Latest News Cyber Security Academic Startups
Programme (Year 2) competition
opens 22 January
FIND OUT MORE
Innovate UK in partnership with and
supported by Knowledge Transfer
Network (KTN) are investing up to
£500,000 innovative cyber security ideas
coming from the academic research base.

Latest News Tech City UK’s flagship Tech
Nation survey online now
FIND OUT MORE
Responses will be included in Tech City
UK’s flagship Tech Nation report 2018,
which will comprehensively map the
state of the digital tech sector in the UK
and you will be entered into a charity
draw to receive a £1,000 donation from
Tech City UK.

"If opportunity doesn't knock,
build a door."
Milton Berle