Mersey Reporter - #Merseybites #News

MORE than £2bn of investment opportunities are to be showcased at a two-week festival highlighting the breadth, depth, and quality of place based innovation across the Liverpool City Region.

Running from:- 12 May to 23 May 2025, Innovation Investment Fortnight (IIF) will feature at least 20 events covering topics ranging from the City Region's world-leading life sciences innovation to maritime, space, AI, and sports science.

The fortnight also includes a:- Dragons' Den style pitching event, the 4th annual:- 'Innovation Investment Summit for Scaling,' and 3 nights of:- 'Pint of Science' in which leading City Region academics will speak at pubs across the City Region.

Liverpool City Region currently has £1bn of live innovation projects with a further £2bn of projects in the pipeline and seeking investment.

The City Region's Life Sciences Innovation Zone, which launched in April 2024, is alone expected to attract £800m of public and private sector investment.

Kicking off with a major University of Liverpool event showcasing its pioneering collaborations, including:- Life Sciences Innovation Zone projects, the fortnight will highlight the City Region's world-leading assets and distinctive approaches that put it at the forefront of UK place-based innovation.

Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram said:- "Our Region has always been a place where great ideas are born; and through Innovation Investment Fortnight, we're putting a spotlight on the people and projects turning those ideas into world-class industries. From life sciences to space tech, our Region is helping shape the future; and we're doing it in our own unique way. We're not just talking about innovation; we're investing in it, unlocking billions in opportunities, and making our Region a magnet for talent, creativity, and investment."

Events are as follows:-

12 May 2025... The University of Liverpool is teaming up with the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to bring together global leaders, investors, entrepreneurs, researchers, and policymakers to explore Liverpool's cutting edge collaborations and investment opportunities at the What IFF! How Pioneering Partnerships Are Driving LCR's Innovation Future event. The event will feature some of the biggest names from LCR innovation and include the launch of the Microbiome and Infectious Disease (MaID) Innovation Hub. It will also showcase groundbreaking innovations in AI, materials, climate tech, and the future of music.
13 May 2025... Day 2 will feature an LCR Space Partnership launch workshop.
14 May 2025... Day 3 includes the opening of:- Knowledge Quarter, Liverpool's new innovation hub, that will be named:- 'Central Tech.' Plans for a new Animates cartoon book aimed at inspiring young innovators will also be revealed at a special event within:- Blackburne House.
15 May 2025... The all day Business of Science Conference will be held at:- The Spine, in Liverpool.
19 May 2025... Dragons' Den style Pitching event, at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, in which innovative early stage companies from across the Region will showcase their groundbreaking ideas to a diverse panel of investors.
19 May to 21 May 2025... It's beer, boffins and banter as leading City Region scientists take to pubs and bars within Liverpool and Wirral to share and discuss new ideas in a series of 14 Pint of Science events
20 May 2025... Mersey Maritime will be hosting the flagship Navigating Maritime Innovation in the Liverpool City Region event at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU). The same day, the University of Liverpool will host an all day conference on designing biodegradable chemicals, and Butters Innovation and IUK Business Growth will host a Summit looking at Design in Innovation at MTC.
21 May 2025.. The 4th day long LCR Innovation Investment Summit for Scaling will be held at:- Sci-Tech Daresbury.
23 May 2025... LJMU will host a Sport Science Showcase, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of its pioneering department that catalysed today's multi billion dollar sports data industry.

Since the 1st Innovation Investment Summit in 2022, Liverpool City Region has spearheaded a series of landmark initiatives, including:- piloting Innovate UK's national Launchpad grant programme, now rolled out to 8 other localities. It is also 1 of the very few places invited to forge a new Strategic Relationship with UKRI following publication of the English Devolution White Paper at the end of 2024; reflecting the Region's highly developed place-based innovation approach at the national forefront.

Liverpool City Region agreed to the country's 1st place.