News and Events from InfoLab21
January 2007
Happy New Year and welcome to the January issue of InfoTextX – the e-newsletter from the Knowledge Business Centre at InfoLab21, aimed at keeping you informed about developments inside InfoLab21 and other news which we hope will be of interest to you.
If you would like to contribute news items to future editions of InfoTextX and our website, or know someone else who would like to receive this InfoTextX please contact the editor – Amanda Ross - at a.ross@lancaster.ac.uk
Next Technology Matters Event: The Graduate Academy
The next Technology Matters event is on Wednesday 7th March 2007, 0900-1200 and will focus on the Graduate Academy. The Graduate Academy is a cohort of specially recruited and trained ICT graduates who are managed by the KBC and provide free assistance for SMEs.
View more information on the Graduate Academy.
To register for the event contact Business Development Officers:
Nick King or Colin McLaughlin
01524 510447/3
Join Us! Associate Company Scheme
More and more regional ICT related companies are becoming official Associates of InfoLab21 and adding their profiles to the site. You can find an overview of the benefits in the Associate Company Scheme section of the InfoLab21 website, view profiles of some of the Associate Companies, or send us your own company profile to add. Each new Associate profile will be featured in InfoTextX and Associates can include their events and success stories in InfoTextX.
New Associate Company: CLB Coopers
CLB Coopers is a leading North West based firm of Chartered Accountants with offices in Lancaster, Bolton and Manchester. They offer a complete service to businesses including assisting with AIM flotations, linking businesses to investors, Corporate Finance, Tax and Accountancy services.
New Associate Company: Fat Media
Fat Media is a national website design company specialising in content management systems, e-commerce, search engine optimisation and marketing, digital consultancy, viral marketing, flash games, email marketing and graphic design.
Leaders' Business Breakfast 25th January
The Centre for Leadership Development is running the first Leaders' Business Breakfast of 2007 at Liverpool Hope University on the 25th January 2007. The session includes presentation by Paul McGee on "The S.U.M.O. (Shut Up, Move On) Guide to Success".
Commercializing Research: Project Firefly
Project Firefly involves Alan Dix and Joe Finney from InfoLab21’s Computing Department who have chosen a simple item, a fairy light, and have given it a “technological upgrade” by embedding a tiny computer, creating the next generation of fairy lights. This innovation will potentially revolutionise lighting displays like the Blackpool Illuminations and have great potential for advertisers. It was demonstrated at the last Technology Matters event on 7 December 2006 and also at a follow up event in January for organisations interested in developing and collaborating on the project.
Enter Now For The North West Blue Chip Awards
Big Chip is the largest digital media awards ceremony outside of London and is supported by major sponsors, such as Microsoft, Yahoo and Cisco Systems. This year there will be 26 awards and 17 entry categories covering everything digital that is happening in the region, from Best Commercial Website to the Big Chip Innovation award. There are new awards for brand development, search targeting and the Big Chip Best New Media Agency. The deadline for entries is Monday 12 March 2007.
Last year InfoLab21 resident company NuBlue's website won the Big Chip Award's Best of Lancashire category. View full story
For more information about the awards and details of how to enter see:
www.bigchipawards.com
Regional Study Will Help Develop New Open Source Online Collaboration Tools
Market research into how enterprises in the North of England use IT is being completed as a part of a new project funded by the EPSRC and Northern Leadership Academy. The project is run jointly by the Lancaster Centre for e-Science at Lancaster University Management School and InfoLab21. Research will also explore how managers perceive that open source web-based technologies could enhance their organisation’s capacity.
For further information contact Alastair Robertson at the Centre for e-Science, or to take part and complete the survey online visit www.ictresearch.org.
New Preston ICT Cluster Group
A new cluster group for ICT companies in Preston has been formed, supported by InfoLab21, Business Link Lancashire, local Chambers of Commerce, Lancashire Economic Partnership and the Northwest Regional Development Agency. The Preston ICT knowledge Forum brings together the expertise and creativity of ICT businesses from across Preston and provides a forum for the free and open exchange of knowledge and information and the sharing of business opportunities. The next meeting is on the 8th February.
InfoLab21 also hosts and supports the Lancaster ICT Cluster Group and a number of ICT and Digital Cluster Groups throughout the region.
View more on ICT Cluster Groups
Contact Nick King or Colin McLaughlin
01524 510447/3
Technology Matters Podcasts
For those of you who missed the last Technology Matters event, Audio Podcasts are available at
http://www.cumbriachamber.co.uk/display.asp?ID=MIP1 courtesy of the Cumbria Chamber of Commerce.
The Wild West On Your Mobile Phone
InfoLab21 researchers have won an award for mobile game design at the recent International Conference in Computer Game Design and Technology. “Mobslinger” is a proximity based spontaneously socially interactive game which takes the form of a wild west, quick draw, ‘shoot-em-up’.
E-Marketing Event
Jon Price, Managing Director of LA Serve, an InfoLab21 Associate Company which has the only Google Adwords Professional in the Lancaster District, was guest speaker at the first internal Technology Matters: E-Marketing Event last month. The knowledge transfer event was organised by the KBC to meet the demand for information on this topic and provide marketing and web staff from across the University with an overview of site optimisation for Google and running Adwords campaigns, specifically budgeting and choosing and refining keywords.
Action Learning Sets For SMEs
Action Learning Sets provide the opportunity to discuss and resolve real business issues with other people in similar situations. The Institute for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development is running Action Learning Sets which bring six or seven business people together to share knowledge, experiences and ideas in a confidential and trusting group of like-minded people.
For more information contact Laurie Smith on 01524 510718 or l.d.smith@lancaster.ac.uk.
Rip It Up And Start Again?
A survey finds that 70 per cent of IT directors are still running systems based on ten year old technology. If anything in this article applies to your business and you would like some advice, contact the KBC to see if you are eligible for a free ICT appraisal.
Nick King or Colin McLaughlin
01524 510447/3