Archive for the ‘Inventorium Events’ Category

What happens to your eureka moments? Do you write them across your hand? Do you scribble them on the back of an envelope? There’s an app for that and now there’s a forum, too. Inventorium’s Open Mic Idea Jam series was part of Innovation Dublin 2011, and offered an audience and a microphone to anyone with an idea and three minutes to spare. Below is a review of the events and details of the Open Mic Idea Jams planned in Wales and Ireland in 2012. 

The Idea Jam was intended as a place to share ideas at all points of development, network with like-minded and compatibly different people, and contribute to a climate of idea-sharing, mutual encouragement, and constructive critique. There were potential investors and mentors present, too, but for most it seemed a chance to open up new conversations about ideas. Eighteen people spoke at the first event in the Stag’s Head, beginning with Conor Lynch of Connector.ie, and his idea for a website for skill sharing. The pitches ran the gamut from an idea for an eco-friendly and cost effective way to dry clothes without a tumble drier, to a travel website targeting walkers in Wicklow aged 50+, to a cloud hosting service called Astroboa, described as “like a WordPress service for data”.

There was a similar mix of digital, service and physical product pitches at the second Open Mic event at Odessa, including a novel idea for car sharing that sounded like a cross between Airbnb.com and Gocar.ie. Along with this were some very early-stage, more amorphous ideas like Lisa Feay’s idea for a jazz radio station, and some other arts focused concepts, like Castle Variations, an annual week-long musical mashup in a castle.

The Idea Jams bring together a wide range of people and ideas that wouldn’t otherwise end up in the same room on purpose. They’re as useful for the audience as they are for the people pitching, a few of whom seem to have gone home with business cards for potential collaborators, partners, investors or customers. However, what was striking but perhaps not surprising was the fairly low representation of women, not just pitching, but actually attending the event. Is it because there are fewer female entrepreneurs? Or is a woman less likely to air publicly an idea that isn’t quite ready yet?

The most striking thing was this: digital companies, organisations, would-be entrepreneurs and innovators can learn some important lessons from people who make physical products, or sell services. We know already that starting something successful, whether it’s for profit, for fun, or for the greater good, means understanding who your customer is, what that customer needs, and being really clear what problem you’re solving. Your sweat equity, your money, and your passion is tied up in this great new idea. It’s easy to think that you’ve thought all of the important things through everything else can be clarified later.

For a video of previous Open Mic nights click here.

More Open Mic Idea Jams are planned for 2012:

Wales: 17th April, Fat Cat, Bangor

For more details and to register visit the events section of our website.

An article on WalesOnline.co.uk gave some interesting perspectives from business leaders on what 2012 holds for businesses in Wales some extracts are included below;

Phil Cooper: Managing Director, Venture Wales

“The natural reaction for some will be to downsize and simply cut costs. However, I hope others will respond by exploring new markets and diversifying products and services.”

“Yes, we are in a tight corner and 2012 is going to be very tough for many businesses. But only through individual enterprises taking initiatives and pursuing new opportunities together with strong political leadership will we start to turn the tide.”

Iestyn Davies: Head of External Affairs, Federation of Small Businesses in Wales
“Based on early indications, small businesses will be looking to employ more staff and will be keen to innovate and bring new products and services to market. In tough times they realise that innovation gives them a competitive edge over their competitors.”

To read the article in full click here.

Throughout 2012 Inventorium will be continuing to encourage open innovation inWales andIreland, helping teams to work towards the generation of new businesses, products and services. Our programme of workshops and Symposia will support the development of new ideas and ways of working for the public sector, SME’s and not-for-profit enterprises.

Events planned for 2012 will look at how digital technologies can be used to better support aspects of culture and industry in Wales Including workshops focussed on: Digital Culture inWales

Heritage Tourism

The Rural Economy

Education

Welsh Language and Media

Tourism

Agriculture

At each of these events Inventorium will aim to have sector professionals clearly defining some of the problems they are currently facing – the main focus of the rest of the day will then be on diverse teams of people – made up of industry professionals, technologists, designers, developers, academics and entrepreneurs – working together to develop solutions to those problems.

Details of these events will appear on www.inventorium.org/events

Digital Innovation Camp

A partnership event hosted by Inventorium & Ramblers Cymru

When: 10^th March 2011, 10am until 4pm

Where: CARAD, East Street, Rhayader, Powys

Directions: http://www.carad.org.uk/about-carad/location-and-directions

The aim of this Digital Innovation Camp is to bring together ideas, people and digital tools to build solutions, and create exciting new ways to engage with the public in Wales who use the outdoor environment.

Those who may wish to attend include:

• Any organisation which wants to engage with the public
• Any environmental organisation
• Any organisation which has data

We are living in an age where the public consume information in new ways.  The traditional methods of communication are in decline and these are being replaced by a rapid uptake in the use of social media, mobile communications, location based technologies (LBS), maps and geographical information systems (GIS).

Inventorium sets a platform to promote innovation in new digital technologies and is partnering with Ramblers Cymru to engage with people who wish to explore these opportunities and reach new audiences.

These changes are presenting many challenges and opportunities.  You are welcome to attend this workshop if you wish to discuss the latest ideas, trends and developments and work with a wide range of partners at the cutting edge of the adoption and use of these new communication streams.

With technology changing at a quick pace this is now a good time to share and collaborate with a wider audience. We also have much smaller budgets and wish to collaborate and work smartly together. Together we can explore the new opportunities for value-added tourism destination management in the 21^st century.

Inventorium has developed a series of tools to help guide participants through an open innovation concept development process.  The objective of this workshop is to take forward a number of supported ideas, collaborate and look at funding routes so the ideas become a reality. Inventorium and Ramblers Cymru are already partnering with Swansea University (Fit Lab), Swansea Metropolitan University, Bangor University, Peoples Collection Wales and WAG, Visit Wales.

Places are limited to 40 people so please book your place by return of e-mail at your earliest convenience.

Professor Khalid Al-Begain will introduce the latest development in communications and a new concept of Digital Marketplace of Services that could characterise Web 3.0/Telco3.0 era otherwise known as future Internet. Free – University of Glamorgan Event to be held 26th January 5.15 to 7pm at Treforest Campus, Pontypridd. More details www.softwarealliancewales.com.

On a sunny day in Aberystwyth Inventorium ran the second Mobile Apps Workshop in Wales, 14 participants joined us at Technium Aberystwyth to generate new ideas for mobile apps. To start the day the participants, who came from academia, tourism, craft making, web design/development and government, were given a series of presentations from industry professionals to set the scene.  Jonathan Jones-Morris of Surgery Digital Art Research described smart phones as the “Swiss Army Knife of the future”; he talked about the different smart phone platforms in use and discussed some of the most successful apps currently available. The second presentation was from Darren Morris of App Bits who talked about the best way to go about designing a mobile app and developing an appropriate user interface, Darren also advised on some of the ways to “set your app apart”. Martin Owen, Inventorium, closed the presentation session with by describing the current apps market and how mobile apps can help businesses.

The next stage of the workshop focussed on idea generation – participants were divided into teams and played a modified version of Inventorium Poker, the aim being to generate as many ideas as possible. The teams then selected two or three ideas to turn into posters to be presented to the room. These ideas included:

Letter App – a handwriting/new languages app

Appt App – a real-time appointment app

Are We Nearly There Yet? – a children’s travel entertainment app

Wildlife – a wildlife location monitoring app

I-Friend – an augmented reality game

Pocket Money Monitor – a tool to distribute and monitor children’s pocket money

Eat The View – a local produce app

On Set – a historic places role play app

I-PLOD – a health activity app

Following a 2 minute presentation on each, the ideas were voted on by the group, new teams were then formed to add details to the idea and consider strengths and weaknesses and possible stakeholders. The final activity was to create and film a 30 second advert which sold the app; this was a fun and challenging activity and a great way to end the session.

The day closed with a presentation from Caroline Thompson, Business Liaison Manager, Inventorium, who described the next steps for moving the ideas forward and how to further engage with Inventorium.

More information about the ideas can be found in the ideas section of the website and people who would like to join ideas can do so there.

The group listening to industry presentations

Voting on ideas

Discussing an idea

The Inventorium team are looking for technical experts, developers, graphic/web designers and key individuals in education, entertainment, environment, health and tourism to attend the next series of Mobile Apps workshops which will take place on the 18^th January at Technium Aberystwyth on the 22^nd February at Trinity College, Carmarthen.  “It is important to get a good mix of people on the day. You may not be a ‘Techie’ but have a wealth of experience you could share.  Please look at our website for more information, and to register your interest” says Caroline Thompson, Business Liaison Manager for the Inventorium project.

“Mobile phone technology is changing rapidly and we are here to help businesses and the public sector to understand and harness this new technology,” says Caroline.

During the workshop day many mobile app ideas are generated and teams choose to expand and develop ideas they feel passionate about.  “It is important to join in, the day is very ‘hands on’ and you will be expected to think on your feet and freely contribute,” says Caroline.

“Everything is becoming digitally based so it’s important to keep up with this fast changing market and utilise the technology to drive tourism businesses in Wales.  Apps are a key part of this new phenomenon so it’s important for all sectors of the tourism industry to work together to harness new technology to keep Wales ahead of the game,” said Carole Stratin, Tourism Partnership North Wales, who attended the recent North Wales Mobile Apps Workshop which was held in Bangor.

Additionally Inventorium will be holding a Tourism workshop in Bluestones, Pembrokeshire on the 1^st February to look at how digital technologies can be utilised to maximise the tourism potential of Wales.

To register please visit the events section of the website.

Caroline Thompson, Business Liaison Manager at the Inventorium project joins in at the recent North Wales Mobile App Workshop

Carole Startin from Tourism Partnership North Wales said, who attended the recent North Wales Mobile App Workshop

Workshop team pool ideas at the recent North Wales Mobile App Workshop

Change often happens as a ‘pull response’ by market forces triggered for example by: an economic downturn, unexpected natural disasters, local outbreaks of disease such as Foot & Mouth, new tourist profiles as population age and wealth concentrations change, but most often by leaps in technology.

The travel industry is renowned for constantly changing. It segments into overseas and UK-based tourism. Inevitably overseas tourism is driven with ‘push agendas’ with industry operators focusing on: packages for new destinations, a new trend for bespoke adventure itineraries, budget airlines opening up new accessible destinations in Europe, promoting city-break attractions etc. UK-based tourism is similar, only with local perspectives. The Future of Tourism event focused on tourism in Wales and our delegates reflected the importance of the workshop, coming from diverse interests such as: local Tourist or Food enterprises, Arts and Culture and Environment and Heritage organisations, Digital Technologists, Tourism Communities, and people seeking to start a new enterprise or expand their current activity.

Over 50 people registered and 42 people attended the busy workshop in Llandudno Junction on 16th November 2010. Martin Owen spoke at the start, introducing ideas on niche markets. Technology has given the individual tourist more choice and control by increasing awareness of options, access to shopping around to take advantage of real competition, and importantly, access to information about destinations and a range of activities which might suit families, young people or mature tourists.

Innovation in local tourism is vital to the lifeblood of Wales and its local economy. The agenda for the day was explicit: to find innovative ways to address four key questions using digital technologies for maximising Wales’s assets. The four questions were:

• How will tomorrow’s customer choose their holiday?

• What will be there for them to choose?

• How will they make their buying decision?

• Why choose Wales?

The questions were addressed through a combination of a talk by keynote presenter Ed Parsons a Geospatial Technologists from Google, discussion groups and practical idea generation activities led by the Inventorium Team. Issues specifically addressed were: increasing revenue and promoting delegates’ tourist businesses, reducing the effects of seasonality, using new geographical locative web and mobile technologies to enhance visitor experience, and enhancing visitor service information and reservation facilities. Ed used many examples to illustrate his points. One suggestion was linking renowned artefacts now in national museums with their local origins to expand tourist interest. A good case is the Mold Cape, presently on display in the British Museum in London and recently featured in the BBC’s British Museum project “A History of the World in 100 Objects”. The Cape’s extraordinary workmanship and uniqueness reflected an artistically sophisticated Bronze Age society living in the Mold area nearly 4,000 years ago. Whilst the workshop focused on innovative technology applied to tourism in Wales, some delegates with business interests or ideas beyond the borders, were thinking hard about widening their view to the bigger more lucrative possibilities of overseas tourism.

Of the Mobile App Workshop held in Bangor Chris Stedham, Menter Môn said,

“I am working on ideas for a mobile app at the moment.  I needed to focus on idea generation and how to draw attention to your app.  I have the IT ‘know how’ but how do we take the right ideas to market?  The workshop was very helpful.”

http://www.mentermon.com/

During the workshop day many mobile app ideas are generated and teams choose to expand and develop ideas they feel passionate about.

Attending our Mobile App Workshop is a challenging and full day.  The workshop is designed to be fun and ‘hands on’, you’ll play the ‘Inventorium Poker’ game.  The day is carefully structured with facilitators helping and encouraging teams working together.  You will be expected to think on your feet and freely contribute.

Join us at one of our next Mobile Apps workshops at either Technium Aberystwyth on the 18th January or at Trinity College, Carmarthen on the 22nd February – to register please visit the events page of the Inventorium website.

Inventorium were fortunate to benefit from three key note speakers for our first  Mobile Apps Workshop on 8th December and they provided great tips on the day.

Paul Levy, Live Tech, one of the key note speakers said
“I hope the introduction presentations were useful, we covered a lot of ground, introduced many ideas and gave our views based on practical experience using the technologies.
During the afternoon practical session I enjoyed trying to embody all our ideas into one project, anything is achievable.
The mobile app marketplace is massive and as a business we are investing time developing the mobile apps technology and bringing it to the markets that can benefit from it.
We are working on a groundbreaking approach to apps at the moment, this will make apps more accessible from a cost point of view and also overcome the issue of having to develop for all of the different platforms for simple apps. Above all I want to ensure a return for our efforts, for us, it’s easy to create great technology, but this must be matched with an appropriate and proportional approach to marketing that technology. ”
http://www.livetech.co.uk

A short extract from the Long Debate with Gordon Mcconnell in action