The University of Chichester opens its first Research and Innovation Week to residents from 7 September. The public keynote and business breakfast are both free.

The University of Chichester is opening a week of research events to people who do not work there. Its first Research and Innovation Week runs from Monday 7 to Friday 11 September, and two of the events are free and open to book now.

The university announced the programme on 18 August. Most of it takes place at the Bishop Otter campus on College Lane in Chichester. The annual research conference moves to The Dome on the Bognor Regis campus.

The two free public events

Tuesday 8 September, 7.30am to 9am: Business Breakfast. The theme is driving growth through research and innovation. The format is a run of five-minute flash presentations from university academics in psychology, accounting, engineering and business, covering innovation, skills development and knowledge exchange, with networking either side over breakfast and coffee. It is held in the Academic Block at Bishop Otter, and the booking page lists it as free.

Tuesday 8 September, 6pm to 7.30pm: keynote lecture. Sam Blacker, Professor of Exercise Physiology and Nutrition, speaks on “Optimising Human Health and Performance”. He co-leads the university’s Occupational Performance Research Group and has more than 25 years of research and consultancy work on physically demanding jobs. The university lists his principal-investigator work as including projects for the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Health, the UK Fire and Rescue Service, UK police forces, the RNLI and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. The event page lists the lecture as free and warns that “spaces are limited, so early booking is recommended”.

The full week

Day Event Where
Mon 7 Sep, 8.30am to 9.30am Seminars for the university community: research strategy, and influencing policy Bishop Otter
Tue 8 Sep, 7.30am to 9am Business Breakfast, free, booking required Bishop Otter
Tue 8 Sep, 6pm to 7.30pm Keynote lecture, Professor Sam Blacker, free, booking required Bishop Otter
Wed 9 and Thu 10 Sep Annual research conference, “Achieving Impact from Research” The Dome, Bognor Regis
Fri 11 Sep, 8.30am to 5pm Back to Business, hosted by Chichester Chamber of Commerce and Industry, ticketed Bishop Otter

The Friday event is the Chamber’s, not the university’s

The week closes with Back to Business, which Chichester Chamber of Commerce and Industry runs at the university on Friday 11 September. The Chamber describes it as a major new annual event for businesses across Chichester and the region, built around the back-to-school season, “when people are back in the room, plans are taking shape and priorities sharpen again”.

The headline speaker is Alex Polizzi, known from The Hotel Inspector. The Chamber’s event page sets out what a full-day ticket covers:

  • registration with tea, coffee and pastries
  • the Alex Polizzi keynote
  • a panel hosted by Julian Roberts with Alex Polizzi, Colin Smith of Natures Way Foods, Matt Rake of Butlins and Amy Yeates of Goodwood, on customer service
  • two or three workshops chosen from 18 across six zones: strategy, people, sustainability, reach, business technology, and wellbeing and culture
  • lunch
  • a second panel hosted by Ian Moore with Adrian Moss, Jess Brown-Fuller and guests

Half-day tickets are offered for the morning or the afternoon, each with a reduced programme. The Chamber’s page does not publish ticket prices, so check with the Chamber before you plan around it.

What it means for you

Three of the five days are aimed squarely at people outside the university, which is unusual for a research week. If you run a business in the district, the Tuesday breakfast costs nothing and puts you in a room with the academics whose work the university wants to commercialise. If you do not, the Tuesday evening lecture is also free.

The practical points:

  • Book ahead for both free events. The keynote page says spaces are limited.
  • Bishop Otter is on College Lane, PO19 6PE, a walk north east of the city centre.
  • The Wednesday and Thursday conference is at Bognor Regis, not Chichester.
  • The 7.30am breakfast start and the 8.30am Friday start both land in the morning peak. The Basin Road and Market Avenue gas works are due to run into mid September and the council has warned of a major impact on bus routes.

Sources

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