Venturefest East Midlands highlights the importance of using Design as a tool for innovation

20 February 2017

Delegates at this year’s Venturefest East Midlands will be able to get involved in a Q & A session around the concept of Design as a Tool for Innovation. Making up the panel will be former President of Speedo, David Robinson, and Professor Timothy Cooper from Nottingham Trent University. The session will form part of Venturefest East Midlands’ Main Stage programme at the event at Derby Arena on Wednesday 22 March.

During 19 years at Speedo, David Robinson, helped to cement the company’s reputation as a globally recognised brand. The Nottingham based company became famous for their innovative swimwear and they now cover 175 countries and 45 international distributors with an international reputation in the sportswear industry and a globally recognized logo. Through ongoing innovation they have maintained their position towards the top of this industry.

Innovation is not just about product design but also about a company as a whole, using the people around you to enhance creativity and to develop ideas and products further. David Robinson and Professor Timothy Cooper will be discussing how businesses can learn to be more innovative in their structure and working practices.

Professor Timothy Cooper is Head of Nottingham Trent University’s Sustainable Consumption research group, Co-Director of the Centre for Industrial Energy, Materials and Products and a member of the university’s Product Design academic team. He continues to work regionally with businesses on how they can successfully work in partnership with the University in terms of design and innovation as well as focusing on their environmental impact.

David Robinson, commented, “In a world of increasing change it is important for all companies to constantly look for new ideas and ways of working to stay relevant in a changing market place. Innovative thinking and a culture based on always testing and learning are becoming a necessity. The people in an organization are often the most powerful tool that a business has, learning how to harness this effectively and partner with key external innovators, will help any company be more effective at increasing their innovation capability

The Design as a Tool for Innovation session will be a question and answer format hosted by Nottingham Trent University’s Head of Business Development, Jeremy Hague. The audience will have the opportunity to ask their own questions before the close of the session.

Venturefest East Midlands is the region’s premier business event for generating innovation and growth and will take place on 22 March 2017 at Derby Arena. Delegate places are free of charge and you can register your place now at www.venturefestem.com.

Back