MEISC2017*

Maritime Enterprise Innovation Scotland Conference 2017*

Wednesday 24th January 2018, 9:00am – 6:00pm
Technology and Innovation Centre, 99 George Street, Glasgow G1 1RD

Image provided courtesy of UKNEST. UKNEST is a not-for-profit association that promotes the engineering, science and technology aspects of UK Naval Defence. Its member organisations include Lloyds Register, Defence Equipment & Support, DSTL, the Royal Navy and UK industry.

Nautilus To maintain its world class capabilities in the years ahead the Royal Navy will require even greater industrial partnership and innovation throughout the supply chain. This fact is recognised in the Defence Enterprise approach adopted in the Strategic Defence and Security Review published autumn 2015.

The Royal Navy plans to move its submarine capability to Faslane, all 11 submarines will be based at HMNB Clyde from 2020 which will result in the number of people employed at the base rising from 6,800 people to 8,200 people.

Sponsored by Rear Admiral John Weale (Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland and Assistant Chief of Naval Staff Submarines), the Maritime Enterprise Innovation and Research (MEIR) activities aim to create an open forum for Navy, Industry and Academia to collaborate and drive innovation through research.

University of Strathclyde supported the Royal Navy in hosting the inaugural Maritime Enterprise Innovation Conference Scotland on 8th December 2016. The conference brought together c.275 delegates from the Royal Navy, government, academia and industry to discuss innovation and innovative ideas, improve links and collaboration opportunities, share Defence ways of working and highlight the growth of innovation in Scotland across Industry. MEISC2016 speakers included Harriet Baldwin MP (Minister of Defence Procurement) and Prof Sir John Pethica (Science Foundation Ireland professor of material science at Trinity College, Dublin, Chief Scientific Advisor at the UK's National Physical Laboratory).

MEISC2017* takes place on Wednesday 24th January 2018 with the theme of ‘The Underwater Environment’. The conference aims to build on MEISC2016 and is being developed in conjunction with MEIR partners and the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA). MEIR partners, in collaboration with Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA), are seeking innovation in the underwater environment. A request for innovative ideas into the DASA Open Call will be launched at the MEISC2017*: A full presentation, along with details on funding and timelines will be presented on the day and will be available on the DASA website shortly afterwards. The Open Call has two areas of interest:

Low power and high accuracy underwater navigation
Underwater vehicle energy management and energy scavenging.

Details on the technical and business maturity levels of any proposals can be found on the Accelerator website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/defence-and-security-accelerator

MEISC 2017* aims to bring together Users, SMEs, Tier1 Industry partners, DASA and Defence Innovation funding such that a clear exploitation path can be developed to solve/assist solving complex maritime problems in the underwater environment through creativity and collaboration.