Tag Archives: Academia

Education, Marketing, PR and SEO, News

Loughborough University appoints Firehaus to lead brand ignition

Firehaus is delighted to announce an exciting new project with Loughborough University. The brand consultancy will be working with the leadership team of the School of Business and Economics to position and rebrand the school in preparation for its next stage of growth. 

The University currently ranks in the top 10 in all UK league tables and is No.1 in the UK for employer-student connections. It is one of only a handful of universities globally to hold prestigious triple-accreditation for its business school. 

The School of Business and Economics has an enviable reputation for merging business theory with practical experience. However the leadership team have set themselves the ambition of staying ahead of the curve in this dynamic and highly competitive sector. A more distinct brand position, underpinned by an inspiring vision and mission, is the first step in creating the momentum needed to enable the School to bolster their undergraduate core, scale their international postgraduate profile and innovate their relationships with industry. 

The new brand position will align with the three themes identified in the University’s 2030 strategy; Climate Change & Net Zero, Vibrant & Inclusive Communities and Health & Wellbeing. 

Firehaus will be using its Brand Ignition framework to set the foundations in place to bring the School to the attention of a wider international audience, mapping a future for the brand that challenges, informs and inspires a new generation of business people for the world stage. It will work closely with the University’s in-house design team to capture and bring to life the new brand position. 

The appointment adds to Firehaus’ increasing body of work around innovation and enterprise in the higher education sector, including projects for UKRI and the University of Bristol. 

Professor Janet Godsell, Dean of the School of Business and Economics said “We knew the importance that brand would play in the future growth of the School. We concluded we needed an outsider perspective to make the transition required as we’d only get one bite of the cherry to get it right for launch. Firehaus are specialists and there is a cultural fit in their collaborative approach that builds trust with wider stakeholders.” 

“It’s been a real pleasure to work with the forward-thinking team at Loughborough. They intuitively understand the role a distinct and inspiring brand has in motivating staff and students as well as creating stand out in a competitive market.” Nick Barthram, Strategy Partner. 

Bristol, News, South West

Firehaus Bring Academia & Industry Together – Increasing Impact & Informing the Future

Firehaus, the Bristol-based brand consultancy, is bringing Academia and Industry together with the launch of The University of Bristol’s The Enterprise Sessions and Interact. 

Interact is a newly-funded initiative through Made Smarter Innovation, part of UKRI.  Many of the barriers to digital innovation in manufacturing are not actually technological, but economic and behavioural. Social science, with its focus on human behaviour, has much to contribute to help industry overcome these challenges. Yet many social scientists are unaware of the opportunities manufacturing provides as a platform for their expertise.  

Interact has been launched to bring pioneering human insight to the industry and accelerate the adoption of industrial digital technologies in the UK manufacturing sector. Firehaus worked with Made Smarter Innovation and academics from the Universities of Loughborough and Strathclyde to create the positioning, name, branding and manifesto film for Interact.  

The brand will offer expertise in social and economic sciences to initiate research and improve access to insights to inform the future of a net-zero economy and make an important contribution to how the UK realises its ambition to become a global leader in industrial digitalisation by 2030. 

Professor Jill MacBryde, University of Strathclyde, Co-Director of Interact comments: “Our long-term vision is to build a strong, vibrant, interdisciplinary community to support UK manufacturing in the adoption and development of digital technologies that will result in a stronger, more resilient, manufacturing base. We know that technology alone is not enough. We need to harness the knowledge of people and society to really reap the full benefits that technology can bring.” 

Jill MacBryde, University of Strathclyde, Co-Director of Interact adds: “Firehaus were great to work with. They explained everything and discussed our choices. They listened to our multiple stakeholders and were very flexible. We ended up with something we are delighted with – but would never have been able to do ourselves!” 

Meanwhile, The Enterprise Sessions is a series of films led by Prof. Michele Barbour Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor: Enterprise and Innovation at the University of Bristol. She speaks with founders, researchers and academics from different disciplines and career stages who’ve been part of its Enterprise ecosystem. Guests include Konstantina Psoma, Professor Wuge Briscoe and Professor Roberta Guerrina and will cover a range of topics from funding, licensing and IP, consultancy, contract research and business incubation. The series aims to inspire others to consider how they can realise impact from their ideas.  Jones Millbank were responsible for all of the video production for the project. 

The University of Bristol now tops the list of UK universities for the return on investment achieved by spinouts and is ranked in the top 3 for equity investment. [Govgrant: University Spinout Report – Parkwalk and Beauhurst: Equity Investment into UK Spin outs 2022] 

Prof. Michele Barbour says: “The University of Bristol has an impressive track record of enterprise and innovation and we’re keen to share that knowledge within our community as well as with a wider audience. The Enterprise Sessions is a new content series that brings to life the personal stories of spinout Founders and how our enterprise ecosystem has them.” 

“Firehaus took our idea and created a branded content series, introducing the broadcast-style interview approach, as well as the name and look and feel. The approach has allowed me to develop rich conversations with our interviewees and showcase their experience of our ecosystem which will be of huge benefit for anyone involved in research, innovation and enterprise.” 

Nick Barthram, Strategy Partner at Firehaus adds, “Firehaus have worked with a range of organisations in the Research, Innovation and Enterprise space, including UKRI, Made Smarter Innovation and The University of Bristol. Consequently we’ve developed a clear understanding and methodology to ignite opportunities at the intersection of academia and industry”.  

Events, News

Innovative UK tech startups from University of Southampton to be unveiled at CES 2021

Innovative technology developed at the University of Southampton is being launched on the world stage from 11th-14th January at CES 2021, as the world’s largest and most influential technology exhibition goes virtual.

Tech entrepreneurs leading eight startups will exhibit at the all-digital expo, showcasing pioneering advances from a range of sectors including Artificial Intelligence, Fitness and Wearables, Quantum Computing, Sports Technology, and Sustainability.

CES usually takes place in Las Vegas and attracts over 170,000 visitors who flock to see the newest technology being showcased by the 4,000+ tech firms in attendance. 2021 sees the event go all-digital, taking the global reach of CES wider than ever before.

Future Worlds, the on-campus startup accelerator at the University of Southampton, will return to CES for a sixth consecutive year as the UK’s only exhibiting university. Eight startups from the University will be interacting with potential customers, investors and tech leaders across the world during the four-day show.

Current University of Southampton startups being exhibited by Future Worlds at CES 2021 are:
• Absolar: AI-powered software that simulates solar radiation to inform renewable energy decisions
• Aquark Technologies: revolutionary miniaturised cold atom chip for quantum hardware
• ArchAI: an AI tool for construction planners to automate archaeology assessments
• Inpulse: smart clothing to correct muscle imbalances and improve sports performance
• Sentient Sports: AI that assists football managers by predicting how players will perform

They will be joined by three University of Southampton startups previously supported by Future Worlds:

• Aura Vision: revolutionary in-store analytics for offline retailers using existing security cameras, now enabling ‘COVID-secure’ retail
• BOON: creators of privacy-first personalised experiences for online retailers
• Emitwise: machine-learning software to help speed up the carbon accounting and reporting process for environmentally-conscious companies

Ben Clark, Future Worlds Director, says: “We are very excited as Southampton steps up as the only university representing the UK at CES for a sixth consecutive year. The startups we have selected to exhibit are inspirational future leaders in their field, destined to make a huge change in the world of AI and quantum. More startups than ever before are exhibiting with Future Worlds at this year’s CES, reflecting the immeasurable vision, talent and determination to push through the pandemic to help create a more sustainable, connected and healthy world to come.”

One of the startups exhibiting with Future Worlds is archaeologist turned computer scientist, Iris Kramer, who will present her startup, ArchAI. The AI solution is automating archaeological assessments to accelerate and de-risk lengthy and expensive planning processes for developers, while saving historical sites from unnecessary destruction.

Iris says: “By using our technology over conventional techniques, developers could save tens of thousands in costs, as well as months of time that would be spent surveying land pre-development. Going forward there are wide ranging environmental challenges globally that our world-first technology can address.”

Another exhibitor is neuroscientist, Devon Lewis. Influenced by the population’s need to be more active, he created Inpulse, which produces smart clothing that monitors and enhances muscle control, resulting in considerably improved sports performance and injury recovery.

“The way our nervous system coordinates movements of the body is incredibly complex, and problems can arise at any stage, leading to a huge range of movement disorders,” Devon explains. “Conventional approaches usually seek to identify and improve specific biological issues, but we can use electrical stimulation to bypass these issues and treat everything from minor tremors to complete paralysis without drugs or invasive surgery.”

For more than 50 years, CES has been the global stage for innovation, showcasing the very best products in consumer technology, hardware, content, technology delivery systems and more. It will be taking place 11th – 14th January.