Inspiring the next generation at the Ceramic Innovation Network 2022

The Ceramic Innovation Network (CIN) once again proved a great success providing an inspirational and educational array of knowledge thanks to an impressive variety of speakers.Entitled ‘How to Bridge the Gap from Lab to Product and Develop the Next Generation’, the event was held at the Henry Royce Institute and brought together academics, students, and industrialists from all parts of the ceramic industry. The event also helped to connect students with potential employers and provide links between academics and industrialists.BCC Energy and Innovation Manager, Jon Flitney, said: “CIN always brings people together who have a shared interest and passion for ceramics. Yet again, it has provided great opportunities for discussion and networking, with some thought-provoking presentations.“The theme this year was to look to the future and inspire the next generation, and with such a tremendous student turnout we hope we have achieved just that.”Presentations included:

• Tony Kinsella, Lucideon – How can we bridge the gap between idea and impact?
• Alex Patrick-Smith, Hinton Perry & Davenhill – The challenge to decarbonise a 217-year-old energy intensive manufacturing business
• Dr Laura Cohen, Manchester University and Royce Institute and former BCC Chief Executive – Getting Materials Manufactured – developing the next generation
• Imogen Harding, Ibstock – My experience as part of the UKRI Foundation Industries Future Leaders Group
• Ajay Kapadia, KTN – KTN Support to access Funding and Collaborations
• Dr Ahmend Khalil, Exeter University – Bridging the lab / product gap: A TransFIRe Perspective
• Ozge Akbulut / Andrew Bowfield - Ceramic 4.0: A holistic approach to the near-net fabrication of ceramics / Royce SME funding
• Sarah-Jane Clelland who gave an introduction to the Henry Royce Institute

BCC organises the event with Lucideon, which is also supported by the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN).BCC Chief Executive Rob Flello said: “Being my first CIN event, it proved to be a great introduction for me to see the passion people have for technical ceramics. Many thanks to our expert speakers for providing real insights. I believe our guests had a great experience with plenty of insight to take away with them.”Stuart Maclachlan, Head of R&D at Lucideon, said: “CIN always proves to be a valuable way of connecting the manufacturing and research sides of the sector. We do a lot of projects ourselves and I find these meetings help us to not only form ideas for innovations but also understand their importance to industry.”