Businesses from each borough of Greater Manchester have been embracing digital innovation as part of an accelerator scheme, the Centre for Digital Innovation (CDI).
CDI is one of the UK Government’s innovation accelerator programmes, funded by Innovate UK. A consortium of Greater Manchester universities, GM FE Colleges and industry partners have collaborated to create a supercluster of digital expertise to help the region’s businesses achieve their goals through digital innovation.
The CDI Roadshows offer local and regional businesses a chance to learn more about emerging technologies and trends, including Virtual Reality, Cyber Security and Artificial Intelligence. Each Roadshow event also provides guest speakers and showcases practical innovation support to help businesses achieve their goals, through R&D, productivity and efficiency.
Several Roadshows have already taken place across our nine colleges including Oldham College, Stockport & Trafford College Group, Salford City College, Wigan & Leigh College and Hopwood Hall College. All the events have been greeted with an overwhelmingly positive response from hundreds employers.
Following on from the exciting Roadshows, businesses have come forward with the aim of developing partnerships.
Electricity NorthWest has visited Wigan & Leigh College’s CAVE to assess the possibility of co-creating training and development resources for their workforce, including experiential materials for new recruits and careers outreach.
The college is also in talks with Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The Cardiology and Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner teams have visited the college to assess the use of the Anatomage and Body Swaps VR content with their teams. They are now working to assess the use of the new technology with care workers and nursing associates in care settings.
Jamie Higham, AI Enterprise Business Development Manager, Scan Computers said, “On behalf of Scan Computers, I am thrilled to be part of the CDI Roadshow, showcasing the latest in digital innovation. It’s an exciting opportunity to connect with local businesses and demonstrate how technology can drive growth and efficiency. Together and through collaboration, we’re helping to shape the future generation of talent across the Greater Manchester region!”
Richard Foster-Fletcher, Chair, MKAI.org commented, “The event at Hopwood Hall College was an outstanding gathering of local industry leaders, professionals, and educators, all coming together to explore the future of digital technologies, particularly artificial intelligence and industrial digitalisation. The content was highly relevant and useful, offering real-world insights that resonated deeply with the audience.”
The next CDI Roadshow will be held on Monday 21st October, 9:30am-1pm at Bury College. To book your free ticket visit Bury College – CDI Roadshow Event.
