REGIONAL FOCUS > West Midlands In Pole Position
Published: Thursday, 06 Mar, 2008
02 July 2007
Article from Advantage West Midlands
Former Prime Minister of Poland Jerzy Buzek was in Birmingham on Friday looking at how Birmingham and the West Midlands are making the most of new technologies and innovation
West Midlands in pole position
02 July 2007
Article from Advantage West Midlands
Former Prime Minister of Poland Jerzy Buzek was in Birmingham on Friday looking at how Birmingham and the West Midlands are making the most of new technologies and innovation. Mr Buzek was prime minister of Poland from 1997-2001 and was elected to the European Parliament in 2002 with a record number of votes cast in Poland.
Mr Buzek, who chaired the Committee that piloted Framework Programme 7 (FP7), the EU’s €50 billion Research and Development programme, through the European Parliament visited both Aston and Birmingham Universities to find out more about the Birmingham Science City Initiative and the Photonics Group research laboratories. Birmingham Science City is a joint venture between Birmingham and Warwick Universities and part of a national initiative that pulls together world class science and technology.
Mr Buzek was shown Birmingham Science City’s first project, a pioneering collaboration that will develop the use of hydrogen energy as a green fuel. The project recently won £6.3 million worth of funding from regional development agency Advantage West Midlands.
Similarly, the Photonics Research Group at Aston University is one of the largest photonics research institutions in the UK. Photonics is the science of generating, controlling, and detecting photons and looks at using light in a similar way to electricity. It is used in optics, laser technology, electrical engineering, materials science, and information storage and processing. For example a single optical fibre has the capacity to carry three million telephone calls simultaneously.
The Photonics Research Group has a successful spin out company called Indigo Photonics and maintains active collaborations with industrial companies and academic institutions throughout the world.
John Edwards, Chief Executive of Advantage West Midlands, hosted the visit. He said that “the visit by Mr Buzek is a great indication of the strength the West Midlands has in science and technology. All of our universities are engaged in cutting edge research and I am delighted that Advantage West Midlands is supporting the Birmingham Science City initiative as it promises to develop exciting areas such as greener fuels as well as further build on our reputation as a forward thinking region.”
Jerzy Buzek MEP said, “both the Photonics Research Group and Science City are leading their fields in cutting edge technologies and ensuring a cross over between academia and industry. I am impressed that the West Midlands is working closely with the scientific community to maximise the potential benefits that the Framework Programme can offer.”
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