West Sussex Health and Life Sciences Cluster News Update
In July over 90 people attended the West Sussex Health and Life Science Cluster launch event which was a huge success . If you missed the event or you want a reminder about the evening please click here. Since the event we have received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback which we have incorporated into our plans.
We are delighted to use this opportunity to update you on some of the exciting things that have been happening since our inspiring launch event.
Online Presence
The Cluster now has a social media presence! A closed group entitled ‘West Sussex Health and Life Sciences Cluster’ has been set up to allow free discussion amongst cluster members. A twitter account entitled WSHLSC has also been set up and will commence tweeting in the near future. To access our LinkedIn account please click on the following icon.
If you have any news that you want sharing with the cluster please contact us at Business.Support@westsussex.gov.uk and we will be happy to share accordingly. Likewise, if you have any suggestions on cluster engagement please do not hesitate to contact us.
Cluster Manager
As a sign of West Sussex County Council’s commitment to the West Sussex Health and Life Science sector, the County Council has appointed a dedicated person to work with the cluster and take forward our plans and initiatives. Rachael Merriman will look after the cluster and will continue the excellent engagement work that KPMG have begun. Rachael can be contacted either using business.support@westsussex.gov.uk or rachael.merriman@westsussex.gov.uk
At the event we committed to progressing a number of immediate opportunities…
The Growth Hub
The Accelerator- there has been significant progress with this exciting initiative!
An accelerator is an intensive programme offered to highly promising start-ups, following a competitive selection process, designed to prepare them to be funding ready. It is a quick and exciting model to support start-up growth. We are currently at a stage to put out a call for Venture Capital Partners. For further information on this initiative please click on this link.
Regulatory Services- for an update on our work into regulatory provision please click here.
Workforce and Skills
We have had a number of highly positive conversations with our innovative local universities. We are looking for ways to increase collaboration and improve links between the universities and the sector. At present we are in conversation about several initiatives including : Real Life Projects; Placements; Seminars and Guest Speakers.
We are currently preparing to present the cluster with specific offers on these opportunities. In the meantime you can click here to read a little bit more about the thinking behind these initiatives.
A date for your diary!!
Many of you will already be familiar with, or be involved in the excellent STEMfest and Big Bang events in the county. Currently there is comparatively less activity in the coastal area. A number of partners have agreed to address this, and will be hosting a Big Bang @ Butlins, Bognor Regis event on 3rd March 2016 which will give young people from local schools the opportunity to engage with local STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) employers through inspiring and interactive engineering and science events. The event will showcase local employer career opportunities through a range of interactive activities and workshops delivered for schools during February and March that forms part of a wider Coastal STEMfest.
Critical to bringing the Coastal STEMfest to life will be the involvement of local businesses. We will shortly be inviting you to an informative evening in November to provide more details and give you the fantastic opportunity to get involved.
The Cold Chain Initiative
For an update on the cold chain please click here.
Your input is crucial to the success of the cluster and we welcome any feedback or suggestions. We will be back in touch soon!
Notification
Please be aware we are storing your data and summaries of exchanges on a secure customer relationship management system which requires coded access. We are storing this information to help us progress our initiatives and successfully develop the cluster, we will not share your details with anybody else. If you wish to unsubscribe or have your details removed from our database at any time, please contact us at business.support@westsussex.gov.uk
