A £6.4 million initiative to boost Devon’s expertise in solving future global environmental and big data challenges has formally launched in Exeter – The Environmental Futures & Big Data Impact Lab (Impact Lab).
140 guests attended the launch, including business leaders, regional influencers, technical specialists and local and national government representatives. The event was a chance to learn about the Impact Lab and hear from some of the businesses it has already helped, since its inception in January 2018.
Led by the University of Exeter, the Impact Lab is based at the state-of-the-art Met Office HPC Complex and part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund. The initiative brings together Devon’s leading scientific research centres to help Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to create innovative products and services.
The Impact Lab is a partnership of seven organisations: University of Exeter, Exeter City Futures, Met Office,
Plymouth College of Art, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, University of Plymouth and Rothamsted Research.
Robert Kathro, Impact Lab Programme Director, said: “The Impact Lab is a service for SMEs in Devon who need deep technical support to help them solve a key business challenge in the fields of big data, data science and environmental futures.
“Each of our clients receive a bespoke package of support, tailored to their requirements and addressing their specific challenge. Experts from our seven partner organisations ensure the highest quality support and advice is offered.”
Since January 2018, the Impact Lab’s Innovation Support Team has engaged over 100 businesses. It is now delivering a number of projects, creating innovative new products and services with Devon-based businesses through the exploitation of environmental intelligence and data science.
