Priority theme: Advanced Materials
You can tap into the UK businesses that produce, process, fabricate and recycle materials, with an annual turnover of around £197bn, and become the next part of this lucrative supply chain.
Discover materials on _connect >Priority theme: Bioscience
Explore the significant opportunities Bioscience offers your business in the areas of characterisation and discovery tools, production and processing, and bioinformatics.
Discover bioscience on _connect >Priority theme: Built Environment
Bring your brain to the UK construction sector and help grow an economy that has an annual turnover of over £107bn and employs approximately two million people.
Discover built environment on _connect >Priority theme: Resource Efficiency
We all have a part to play in sustainability and your business is no exception. Use _connect to uncover how you can contribute and profit at the forefront of the sustainable economy.
Discover resource efficiency on _connect >Priority theme: Digital Services
Work with the companies on _connect creating new value from digital information, content and services. The internet economy in the UK is set to account for 10% of GDP by 2016.
Discover digital services on _connect >Priority theme: Electronics, Sensors & Photonics
8,000+ companies are involved in designing and manufacturing these products which underpin activities in healthcare, energy, transport, environmental sustainability, and construction.
Discover electronics, sensors & photonics on _connect >Priority theme: Energy
The 'trilemma' of energy security, affordability and sustainability continues to gain momentum - your innovation has a key part to play in this industry's period of transition
Discover energy on _connect >Priority theme: Food Supply
The UK's food supply chain is worth £84.7bn pa and employs more than 3.5 million people, with recognised centres of excellence across the agrifood supply chain - what part can you play?
Discover food supply on _connect >Priority theme: Healthcare
Meet the people who are meeting the challenge of creating more efficient and effective healthcare in the areas of prevention and management, detection and diagnosis, and treatments for disease.
Discover healthcare on _connect >Priority theme: High Value Manufacturing
Manufacturing contributes £6.7tr to the global economy and the UK is in the world's top ten - knowledge transfer plays a key part in that and needs your input to grow even further.
Discover manufacturing on _connect >Priority theme: ICT
More than 116,000 companies with revenues totalling more than £137bn make up the UK's ICT sector. _connect is home to many of the high flyers, and the door is open for you to join them...
Discover ICT on _connect >Priority theme: Space
Discover the potential for application and use of space technologies in your supply chain - opportunities exist in areas such as transport, agriculture and ICT.
Discover space on _connect >Priority theme: Transport
Transport needs your input to become more sustainable. With improvements needed in the areas or effectiveness and efficiency, the world needs innovative new supply chains.
Discover transport on _connect >Please note: From August we will be closing our _connect networking groups. This will not affect your funding application(s).
"Open innovation is a paradigm that assumes that firms can and should use external ideas as well as internal ideas, and internal and external paths to market, as the firms look to advance their technology."
Harvard Business School
_connect is an initiative from the UK's Technology Strategy Board with the singular aim of making open innovation happen.
The networks on _connect are home to some of UK Industry's brightest minds, and they are waiting to collaborate on their next exciting projects.
Join _connect and see what open innovation can do for your business.
Featured networks
Future Cities
The Future Cities Group is part of the Urban Living group
HealthTech and Medicines
Building a Healthy Nation through Business Innovation
Biosciences
Serving the Agriculture, Food and Industrial Bioscience Sectors
Materials
The Materials Community aims to bring together the materials supply chain to accelerate innovation, improve global competitiveness and sustainability.
Robotics and Autonomous Systems
Supporting the development of a new industrial RAS sector in the UK
Quantum Technologies
Building a £Billion business in Quantum Technology
Space
Connecting the spectrum of activities across the Space Innovation and Growth Strategy with existing communities, to foster a space community spanning government, industry and academia
ICT
Creating a competitive advantage for the UK by facilitating knowledge exchange on Information and Communications Technologies and accelerating innovation.
Electronics, Sensors, Photonics
To be a beacon for successful wealth creation from knowledge.
Defence and Security
Seeking both to improve the flow of knowledge between the UK’s civil and defence and security communities and to identify new opportunities for technology exploitation
New Events
Solar Eranet Cofund Competition Brokerage Webinar
11:00 until 13:00
This SOLAR-ERA.NET Cofund Competition Brokerage webinar is an ideal opportunity for organisations...From Energy at KTN
Advanced Nuclear Manufacturing and Materials Brokerage Event
All Day
To support the £5m SBRI funding competition: Advanced Nuclear Manufacturing and Materials, KTN...From Nuclear
Future challenges of Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals
12:30 until 18:00
Future challenges of Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals is an afternoon seminar presented by GE...
Visit the 3M Innovation Centre, Bracknell with MaDE
11:00 until 15:30
The MaDE Partnership connects materials science and design to stimulate innovation. Founding...From Materials
SynBioBeta London 2017
Apr 04 / 09:00 until Apr 06 / 17:00
For the 5th year in a row, SynBioBeta London 2017 will bring together thought leaders and...Upcoming Events
Photonics and Opto-Electronic Packaging Conference
All Day
“Giving Light to your System Design” – The performance and cost of opto-electronic systems is dependent on assembly processes used in manufacture. Join us at the Photonics and Opto-Electronic...
Driverless Technology Conference 2016
09:00 until 18:00
Now in it's second edition this year's event will focus upon accelerating growth within the UK driverless technology industry. Current technological capabilities for self-driving cars, highly...From Energy Efficiency
Food Matters Live
09:00 until 17:00
Food Matters Live is the UK's first cross-sector event bringing together professionals from across the food and drink industry, nutrition and health to address one of the most important challenges...From Biosciences
Annual Healthcare Lecture , IET London
16:00 until 21:00
We are delighted to announce our next Annual Healthcare Lecture will be taking place 22 November 2016. Come along and listen to 2016s IET Healthcare Award winners and our keynote speaker, Chris...
13th Annual bioProcessUK Conference
All Day
Registration is now open and early-bird fees are available. Processing the priorities for the future - is the focus for the 13th Annual bioProcessUK Conference taking place on Wednesday 23 and...
bioProcess UK 2016
All Day
This year’s Annual bioProcessUK Conference will centre on the theme “Processing priorities for the future”. The programme will be made up of keynote presentations, panel discussions, poster...
Circular Transitions
All Day
A Mistra Future Fashion Conference on Textile Design and the Circular Economy Chelsea College of Arts & Tate Britain, London Circular Transitions has been organised by Dr Kate Goldsworthy and...
Horizon 2020 Societal Challenge 5 UK Information Day
All Day
The National Information Day for Horizon 2020 Societal Challenge 5 will take place on 23rd November 2016 in Birmingham. This free event is organised jointly with the Enterprise Europe Network in...
13th Annual bioProcessUK Conference
Nov 23 / 09:00 until Nov 24 / 17:00
Focusing on Processing priorities for the future this years conference will update delegates on timely topics and issues, essential to the medicines manufacturing and biologics sector. Expert...
Bridging the Gap: Tech and Agriculture
09:00 until 17:00
On 23rd November 11:00 – 15:30 come to the first of a two-part series on the use of digital technologies, such as Big Data and the Internet of Things, in the UK’s Agricultural industry. Partnering...From Biosciences