In December 2017, Stephen Taylor, CEO of Technology Scotland, was invited to represent the Scottish Optoelectronics Association (SOA) at a regional photonics workshop in Cardiff.
Hosted by the Centre for Process Innovation and the Knowledge Transfer Network, the event gave speakers and attendees the opportunity to input on how future support for the photonics industry is delivered on a regional level.
As the representative organisation for photonics in Scotland, Stephen attended to present on Scottish Photonics Capabilities and the role of the SOA and Technology Scotland. This proved an excellent opportunity to reiterate not only the importance of photonics to the Scottish and UK economy, but also the importance of the photonics community in Scotland.
Listening to other speakers also gave us the opportunity to hear from other regions in the UK and Europe, and explore how they are supporting their local photonics community, as well as creating connections with other clusters. Attendees included those representing EPIC Paignton, The Welsh Optoelectronics Forum (WOF), The PLG, NE LEP, OpTIC St Asaph, and The EEN.
Overall, this was a useful workshop aimed at collectively improving ways to provide regional support to photonics organisations in the UK. As always, it was a pleasure to showcase Scotland photonics expertise and leadership at a national event.
Presentations from the event are now available to download from the Technology Scotland Member’s Area.