Tomorrow’s workforce needs the skills that a digital technology driven future demands – but they’re not the only ones. Employers and entrepreneurs looking to harness all that innovation can benefit from knowledge sharing, too.
By showcasing the newest ideas and helping to develop pioneering mindsets, MK:U’s Innovation Hub, officially launched this month, will bring businesses together to learn and grow, supporting Milton Keynes in becoming one of the UK leaders for innovation, with particular focus towards smart cities and connectivity.
It is part of MK:U, which was born out of collaboration between Cranfield University, Milton Keynes Council and local business partners to deliver degree-level apprenticeship programmes that combine professional skills with a technical curriculum. Opened last year, the second cohort of apprentices, from businesses around the region, have just begun their courses.
More than 100 businesses, employing more than 700,000 people between them are part of the Business Supporters Group that will help drive the curriculum for the first four digital apprenticeship courses at MK:U – Chartered Manager, Cyber Security, Data Scientist, and Digital & Technology Solutions – and those that follow once the new campus becomes established.
Kristian Mackie, MK:U Innovation Hub Manager, said:
“We are already helping the digital workforce of tomorrow learn the skills employers are going to need if Milton Keynes is to keep its place as an innovation centre.
“At the same time, we need to help innovators and business owners develop their own thinking and products by meeting and collaborating. The Innovation Hub will be one of the UK’s leaders in smart-cities-focused communication research. It will have a communications lab, with all the tools to develop and test leading communications technologies, to support businesses and help them apply what they learn to their innovations.”
The creative space will provide businesses and innovators with access to the tools the next generation of pioneers need, supporting them through all stages of rapid idea development and establishment. Regular events in the collaboration space will showcase new and interesting innovations and help businesses discover new ways to utilise emerging technologies, while at the same time providing networking opportunities.
In addition, The Innovation Hub’s cutting-edge Innovator Programme will help entrepreneurs boost their pioneering mindset, generate and evaluate ideas and take them from concept through to marketable solutions. The intensive course covers idea development and problem-based learning by working on unique challenges put forward by sponsors. The programme also gives entrepreneurs an accelerated route to market as well as access to a network of innovators.
Professor Lynette Ryals OBE, Chief Executive of MK:U, said:
“Milton Keynes is founded on innovation. MK:U’s role will be to help new entrepreneurs develop exciting and innovative ideas that shape the way we live for centuries to come.”
Find out more about the MK:U Innovation Hub
