Previous Events

In this section you can find the information on the various events including the presentations that we have held in China and the UK.

Launch of ICUK

Venue: London
Date: November 2007

Read the press release here.

China-UK Forum in Biomedical Innovation

Venue: Guangzhou, China
Date: March 2008

ICUK - Knowledge Transfer between China and the UK -by Manyi Cristofoli, ICUK Executive Director
Research Councils UK and its Role in UK-China Research Collaboration- by Dr. Carole Rennie, Deputy Director, RCUK in China
Research and Innovation- by Prof. Yi Pan, Vice President of Nanjing University
Stem Cell Therapy for Vascular Disease-by Prof. Qingbo Xu, King's College London
Key Roles of Hospital in Research Innovation-by Prof. Qian Wang, Vice Dean of Southern Hosptical of Southern Medical University
Biomedical Optics and its Instrumentation - Case Studies on University-Enterprise Collaboration-by Prof. Hui Ma, Vice Dean of Graduate School of Tsinghua University in Shenzhen
Morphology and Morphometry of Stented Arteries - by Prof. Stephen Greenwald, Queen Mary, University of London
Environmental Microbiology and its Application -by Prof. Ningyi Zhou, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Cell & Tissue Engineering -by Prof. Jun Ouyang, Southern Medical University
Technology Commercialisation -from a UK Entrepreneur's perspective -by Mr. Adrian Dwyer, Former Chief Executive of Meridian Technique Ltd

Building a UK-China Partnership in GNSS and Geospatial Sciences

Venue: Wuhan, China
Date: 22 -23 October 2008

This workshop brought together a broad range of top experts from China and UK including senior government officials, industry representatives from leading Chinese surveying and mapping companies and key academics of leading universities/research institutions.

This high profile workshop provided an important platform for UK-China professionals in GNSS and Geospatial Sciences to present and discuss recent developments, strategy, education and applications in the public safety critical areas such as monitoring geo-hazards. Through open debate and discussions, mutual understanding about the opportunities and challenges on the launch of new satellite navigation systems and new signals was achieved.

The workshop has been confirmed as a great success with many potential collaborations being initiated not only between academics themselves but also with industries and between governments

Commercialisation of Photonics Technologies from Universities

Venue: Shanghai, China
Date: 4 November 2008

The ICUK workshop on “Commercialisation of Photonics Technologies from Universities” took place at the Asia Optical Fibre and Optoelectronic Exposition and Conference (AOE 2008) in Shanghai on Saturday November 4th. The workshop was organised by ICUK in conjunction with the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) at the University of Southampton and Prof. Wei-Ping Huang of MacMaster University Canada , Director of HISENSE Broadband Multimedia Technologies. An audience of over 60 people including invited guests from 20 of China’s top academic and research institutions in the field of photonics attended the event.

Highlights of this workshop included a talk by Prof. David Payne, Director of the ORC about his experience of setting up a cluster of 10 spin-out companies around the ORC in Southampton and establishing a set of “Dos’ and Don’ts” for commercialising outputs from University research. Academics from various Chinese Universities also discussed their experiences in using optoelectronic sensors in mine safety and also technology transfer in Wuhan which is know as the “Optics Valley of China”.
In addition to hosting the workshop ICUK and the ORC organised a highly successful stand for the three days of the trade show. Representatives from SPI Lasers and Stratophase joined those from ICUK and the ORC in showcasing work from the ORC spin-out companies and ICUK, attracting a steady stream of interested parties to what was undoubtedly one of the most vibrant and popular stands in the entire show.

ICUK IP Workshop

Venue: Nanjing, China
Date: 5 November 2008

In order to facilitate further, the UK-China knowledge transfer collaboration, the ICUK organized a small-scale Intellectual Property (IP) workshop for the ICUK project managers and academics that were in Nanjing to attend the 1st Jiangsu International Technology Transfer Conference. The ICUK invited IP specialists from both the UK and China to talk about some key issues in Intellectual Property & technology collaboration in China, IP protection in international science and technology collaboration.

Issues such as major differences between UK and Chinese patent law were highlighted at the workshop as well as the differences between the two countries when pursing infringement actions. However, it was noted that both patent application processes were quite similar. Furthermore, it was emphasised that China had improved its IPR protection in the past decade and western criticisms of the IPR situation were exaggerated.

Sino-EU GP Traditional Chinese Medicine Workshop

Venue: Beijing, China
Date: 11-13 January 2009

This workshop was organised by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST), the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS), Innovation China UK (ICUK) and EU FP7 project – GP TCP Consortium (GP-TCM).

The event was held to bring together experts on TCM from China and the UK and to discuss the huge market potential of TCM and the value of its research. Over 100 TCM experts attended talks addressing the key difficulties, challenges and opportunities for TCM to enter the international market. Among the issues that were recognised was the need for further strengthening China-EU cooperation in TCM by establishing long-term collaborations focusing on key areas where TCM has demonstrated unique curing advantages. The establishment of a Sino-EU TCB cooperation agreement was also proposed to accelerate the progress of joint Sino-EU research partnerships in TCM.

UK-China Workshop on Freshwater Ecology Research and Environment Monitoring Technology

Venue: Wuhan City, China
Date: May 2009

Initiated by key academics from Queen Mary, University of London, ICUK held a workshop on "Freshwater Ecology Research and Environment Monitoring Technology" in Wuhan, China. This event was led by Queen Mary, University of London, the lead institution of the ICUK programme.

This event was held to promote knowledge transfer between the two countries, with the emphasis on transferring existing knowledge and best practices in the area of freshwater ecology from the UK to China to assist its efforts to improve freshwater environment in China.

Presentations from the event

Food webs, biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in freshwaters - by Dr Guy Woodward, Queen Mary, University of London
Top-down and bottom-up effects of climate change on lakes - by Stephen Maberly, Lake Ecosystem Group, Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre
Rivers in Europe: science, policy and management - by Alan Hildrew, Queen Mary, University of London
Spatia-temporal succession and competition between bloom-forming cyanobacterial Microcystis and Aphanizomenon in Lake
Dianchi - by Lirong Song, Institute of Hydrobiology Chinese Academy of Sciences
Using the phytoplankton model,PROTECH, to understand water quality issues in lakes - by Ian Jones & Alex Elliott, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, UK
Freshwater monitoring, management and the need for information - the role of the Freshwater Biological Association (FBA), past and present - by Michael Dobson
Riverine Floodplains of China:threats and restoration - by Hong-Zhu Wang, Xue-Qin Liu & Hai-Jun Wang, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
A Peridinium Bloom in a large narrow reservoir — View in ecosystem, Boping Han, Institute of Hydrobiology, Jinan University
The UK approach to the bioassessment of fresh waters - by J. Iwan Jones, John Murphy, John Davy-Bowker & Ralph Clarke, CEH, Queen Mary, University of London, Freshwater Biological Association, University of Bournemouth
Streams, agriculture and greenhouse gases - by Mark Trimmer, Queen Mary, University of London, Natural Environement Research Council

Building A UK-China Partnership In Sustainable Energy and Environmental Technologies for Buildings

Venue: Beijing China
Date: September 2009

The forum was jointly organised by ICUK, University of Nottingham (UK), Tsinghua University (China) and China Academy of Building research (China). It aimed to establish a platform for distinguished academia, industrial and governmental personnel from both the UK and China exchanging ideas and networking. International collaborations and technology transfer between the academics and industry in both China and UK was also sought.

The forum began with introducing the current status and practice in sustainable energy and environment technologies for buildings. The latest research and development in this area was discussed and the challenges and opportunities in the processes of development and applications were highlighted.

Biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries

Venue: Shanghai
Date: October 2009

Shanghai has predominantly strong technology demand in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.
The technologies which local industries are seeking include:

Medical imaging product/method
Medical devices (diagnostic equipment/ methods for liver cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, syphilis, AIDS etc)
Diagnostic assay
Medical stent/ hearing aids/ pacemaker/ biomesh for curing hernia.
OTC medicines
Co-operating with TCM companies to identify new compounds

A bio-pharma event organised by Shanghai Science &Technology Commission was held in October. ICUK will be attending this event to promote technologies and companies from the UK.

ICT manufacturing, broadband system, Copper Clad Laminate, and equipment manufacturing workshop

Venue: Dongguan, China
Date: October 2009

ICUK held a technology promotion event in Dongguan with the intention of matching UK technology to Dongguan industry. Dongguan has now become the Chinese hub of ICT manufacturing, broadband system, Copper Clad Laminate, and equipment manufacturing.
Donggaun industry demand is strong in the following fields:

Computer and telecommunication equipment manufacturing
Environmental protection
Paper manufacturing and paper products
Food and beverage processing and manufacturing
Animation, gaming, creative
Logistics and financial software

At the event three commercialisation contracts were signed between three Dongguan companies and three ICUK projects. Read more here.

RVC visit to Huazhong Agricultural University (HZAU),

Venue: Wuhan, China
Date: October 2009

In October, ICUK partner, the Royal Veterinary College visited the Huazhong Agricultural University (HZAU), Wuhan, China for a 2 day Sino-British International Conference on dairy production and disease prevention and control. The aim of the conference was to discuss the ongoing experimental work between HZAU and RVC on cattle fertility and longevity as well as exploring possible future collaborative opportunities between the two parties. The meeting was attended by 160 delegates from Government Agencies, Dairy Associations, Universities and Research Centres from throughout China in addition to the UK party from the RVC. During the visit, it was confirmed that the Ministry of Science and Technology in China have awarded a grant of 1,000,000 yuan RMB (appox £100K) to Professor Shujun Zhang of HZAU to continue the ICUK collaborative project with Prof Wathes from RVC on dairy cow fertility and longevity.

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