OpenInnovationLab Wikia

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Welcome to the OpenInnovationLab

OpenInnovationLab (OIL) forms stage 2 of the Climate-KIC accelerator programme that will be held from 23/09/15 to 30/09/15. This wiki is for project leads to summarise their projects and communicate with collaborators.

In the context of the Climate-KIC Accelerator, OIL aims to be a collaborative platform for rapid prototyping via learning, research, development and production, with wraparound support in developing the selected concepts. The goal will be to enhance these concepts via collaborative interventions during the one week workshop. This work will be carried out in multi- and interdisciplinary task groups comprised by the concept originator(s) and interested collaborators, with conceptual and technical advice from the experts and facilitators. Alongside the workshop there will be an agenda of industry talks from invited speakers on the themes of innovation, green tech, intellectual property, among others. OIL will bring people from different disciplines from the West Midlands, Ireland and wider Europe to work collaboratively on enhancing the selected concepts by taking new perspectives and approaches to underlying climate related challenges.

OIL is looking for individuals to participate in this collaborative innovation workshop in an environment of openness, exploration, and shared horizontal learning, research, development and production. The workshop aims to use Free/Libre Open Source (FLOS) software and hardware tools and related technologies. Think of this as a special unique opportunity to approach things in a, perhaps more experimental, way you would not normally dare to do.

OIL will enable participants to appreciate where business ideas fit in the smart, knowledge-driven, low carbon economy. Government innovation policy in the UK and Ireland has traditionally focused on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and the ‘eight great technologies’. However, this omits how to factor in creative thinking into the technological mix. As such, STEAM – STEM with an Art component – is seen as a key opportunity for Europe.

OIL will be led by Birmingham City University’s Cross Innovation team, which has experience in bringing in and sharing best practice with practitioners, businesses and institutions from across Europe, notably via its key development role in the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF). The delivery will be shared with Sampad, a Birmingham-based organisation working in multi-disciplinary, international collaborative practices.

OIL was born from a research and production methodology called ‘Interactivos’, developed by Madrid-based Medialab Prado for the creative and educational uses of all technology. These events are a hybrid between a production workshop, a seminar and promotion of the developments via public showcase. ‘Interactivos’ makes space for reflection, new thinking and collaboration, enabling proposals to be researched, developed, produced and presented.

There will also be a conference on the 23rd featuring speakers from innovation and sustainability backgrounds. Tickets for this event can be booked at http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/climate-kic-accelerator-innovation-conference-tickets-18036752412

We will also be holding a LILA Living Lab on the 26th, where attendees will be able to test the products and provide feedback to the project leads. Tickets for this event can be booked at http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/open-innovation-lab-user-labs-tickets-18684107669

List of Projects by Theme[]

Collaborators are asked to register their interest in one theme, with the intention on collaborating on one or more of the projects in that theme. These themes are Network of Humans, Network of Things, Product Design and Web Design.

Register your interest in any of these themes at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/open-innovation-lab-tickets-18207188190


Network of Humans[]

Social & Cultural Inclusive Networks, Critical Knowledge Production[]

C Teeling Ltd (Dr Claire Teeling)

Borroclub ()

Truckulus (Sean Butler)

OWEN (Daniel Cremin)

Storytelling, Storyboarding, Modelling, Animation[]

Leachate Treatment Solutions (David Smyth)

Terawatt (Eamon Smyth, Sinead McKeever)

Schwungrad Energie (Lea Collins, Jake Bracken)

Network of Things[]

Internet of Things Devices & Protocols, Web of Things Architecture

ORBAS (Eoin White, Nickolas Holden, Tom Oldfield)

Thermoelectrics & Photovoltaics, Energy Harvesting[]

SPICA Technologies (Paul Collins)

Smartcharge (David Tunney, Garry Martin)

Product Design[]

Engineering Design, Industrial Design

Terawatt (Eamon Smyth, Sinead McKeever)

InteSyns Ltd (Professor Lubo Jankovic)

Onlicar (Dr Sheeraz Ahmad)

Commutable (Ross Shannon, Fintan Fairmichael)

Electrical Engineering, Physical Computing[]

SPICA Technologies (Paul Collins)

Smartcharge (David Tunney, Garry Martin)

ORBAS (Eoin White, Nickolas Holden, Tom Oldfield)

Schwungrad Energie (Lea Collins, Jake Bracken)

Web Design[]

Marketing Design, Communication Design[]

Leachate Treatment Solutions (David Smyth)

Truckulus (Sean Butler)

C Teeling Ltd (Dr Claire Teeling)

Borroclub ()

Trialview (Stephen Dowling, Eugene O’Neill, John O’Neill)

OWEN (Daniel Cremin)

User Experience Design, Interactive Design[]

Truckulus (Sean Butler)

InteSyns Ltd (Professor Lubo Jankovic)

Onlicar (Dr Sheeraz Ahmad)

Trialview (Stephen Dowling, Eugene O’Neill, John O’Neill)

Commutable (Ross Shannon, Fintan Fairmichael)

Before the event[]

Abstracts about the selected concepts are grouped by themes.  Each theme has a set of related skills and experiences.  Interested collaborators are encouraged to read through the themes to see how their interests match.  We invite the collaborators to subscribe to one or more themes to learn and/or share skills and experiences related to each of the chosen themes.

After the event[]

Prototypes may be published in the project partners’ printed documents or websites but with full credit to the originators and collaborators.

Prototypes carried out will be the property of their author(s), although whenever said prototypes are shown at Innovation Birmingham events, and whenever images of said prototypes are reproduced in catalogues or websites, their relationships with Innovation Birmingham and Climate KIC wil be mentioned. The names of the people who participated in developing the prototypes will also be shown.

Key dates and information[]

• Innovation Conference: Wednesday 23 September 2015

• Open Innovation Lab: Thursday 24 to Wednesday 30 September 2015

• Venue: Innovation Birmingham Campus

Call for collaborators[]

If you would like to collaborate with any projects at this event in particular, please complete this application form and send it to Catherine Shelley at CatherineS@innovationbham.com. or register your interest in a theme at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/open-innovation-lab-tickets-18207188190

Lodging and travel[]

For participants residing outside Birmingham, BCU will provide accommodation for the originators of the selected concepts and for collaborators. BCU will not cover travel or other expenses for collaborators. No fees will be paid to originators of selected concepts or collaborators.