Event aims to team up SMEs with their larger corporate brothers

The Creative Industries Knowledge Transfer Network (CI KTN), in conjunction with Cartezia and the University of York, is hosting the event, entitled Concept to Customer: Connecting Partners and Catalysing Investment, at the university’s Ron Cooke Hub. The aim of the day is to “bridge the gap between innovative technological ideas and viable well-funded business models”.

Uday Phadke, finance and investment head of the CI KTN, told the Yorkshire Post yesterday: “The major thrust is how can we link the smaller and medium-sized companies with the larger corporates and get them to do business with each other and how can we bring investment in there?

“The idea is to provide an environment where these three types of people can interact and rub shoulders and start a dialogue and do business with each other going forward.”

The event in York is the second in a series of events happening up and down the country called RiffStream. The first was held in Cambridge a few weeks ago.

Speakers expected at today’s event include Jon Kingsbury, creative economy programme director at Nesta, Rupert Gatti, chief executive of Open Book Publishers, Sally Joynson, chief executive at Screen Yorkshire, Charles Cecil, chief executive at Revolution Software and Jim Farmery, business development director at Creative England.

Knowledge Transfer Networks, which are market-focused-groups, were created by the Technology Strategy Board, an executive non-departmental public body, established by the Government in 2007 and sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Dr Phadke explained: “The UK Government has been trying to improve the creation of new companies and as part of that about four years ago the British Government created something called the Technology Strategy Board.

“It has this large pot of government money to try and improve the effectiveness of technology creation and commercialisation in the UK.” He said the remit of the CI KTN, which focuses on the creative industries, is to “engage and ensure the dialogue between all the creative companies and the research establishments and universities in order to ensure exciting new ideas result in the creation of new companies, new jobs for UK plc”.

Cartezia partners with clients to build technology business- es.