UK Manufacturing Forum
The UK Manufacturing Forum (UKMF) has become a vital network in the annual calendar of the UK’s manufacturing community, for both industry and academia.
Maximising the impact of investment in the UK’s research and innovation ecosystem
High Value Manufacturing Catapult has enjoyed close links with academia since inception. The Universities of Sheffield, Bristol, Strathclyde, and Warwick are founding partners of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, with Nottingham, Loughborough and Birmingham also closely involved, and the organisation maintains active links with over 50 academic institutes based in the UK.
One such engagement is co-hosting the UK Manufacturing Forum with the Institute for manufacturing (IfM). The IfM is part of the University of Cambridge’s Department of Engineering and offers world-leading research, a world-class education and real-world application to its students and collaborators.
Established in 2018 with an annually recurring event, the UK Manufacturing Forum gathers leading academics, knowledge experts and senior figures from industry and Government to set out a clear agenda for driving Government strategies forward in the manufacturing sector. 180 of the sector’s most prominent thought leaders explore and map emerging trends and priorities and cultivate opportunities for collaboration across the national manufacturing ecosystem.
The UK Manufacturing Forum is often used to contemplate and address significant challenges in the manufacturing R&D sector, such as improving demand-led engagement between industry and academia to make science work better for economical and societal benefits, helping smaller businesses to navigate a complex ecosystem and the improvement of national and regional engagement. The group is set to publish a report on their recommended way forward for key manufacturing technologies and the broader innovation landscape later in 2021.