Email News March 2011
Welcome to the March 2011 edition of Marine South East's email newsletter
Welcome to the March 2011 edition of Marine South East's email newsletter which keeps marine companies informed of events and activities within the South East of England.
If you would like to submit an article for consideration please email text and image to sarah@marinesoutheast.co.uk
Posted 2011-02-08 10:08:18
SEEDA Innovation Voucher Scheme 2011 - offer ends 9th March 2011
Would your business benefit from a £4,000 or £8,000 Innovation Voucher to enable you to develop technology, start research, access equipment/expertise or technical consultancy from one of the UK’s excellent universities or Public Research Establishments?
If you are a high-growth SME based in the South East region, you can apply for one of two new Innovation Vouchers. The scheme offers growing businesses, in any sector, vouchers of £4,000 and £8,000 to encourage and make it easier for them to engage with the UK knowledge base.
Priority is being given to certain sectors one of which is Marine and Advanced Engineering.
Key benefits:
* Access to the wealth of knowledge and expertise from the UK's knowledge-base
* Quick and easy access to expertise
* Expert help to resolve technical/service/product development challenges
* Help to get a product/service to market quicker
* Opportunity to develop a collaborative relationship with a regional knowledge base
Two types of voucher are available:
1. The first is fully funded voucher to the value of £4,000 (excluding VAT). Businesses are responsible for paying the VAT.
2. The second voucher is for £8,000 (excluding VAT), which the company is required to match with £4000 in cash to create a project of £12,000 (excluding VAT). Businesses must pay VAT on the total cost of the project.
Innovation Vouchers are in limited supply, so please apply by the deadline of 9th March 2011.
Successful applicants will be notified by 31st March, 2011 at the latest.
Due to continuing demand, only one application per company can be accepted. You cannot apply if you have already received an Innovation Voucher.
For more information follow the link below:
http://www.sehta.co.uk/news/seeda_innovation_voucher_scheme_2011
or contact Haley Dwyer
Email: haley.dwyer@sehta.co.uk
Phone: 0845 130 8179
Posted 2011-02-08 10:07:10
Have your say in the economic development of the Solent region?
The shadow board of the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) met on the 18th February 2011 to determine the partnership’s governance structures as the LEP prepares to go live.
The shadow board will be replaced by 7 board members from the business community to sit alongside representatives from local government and higher education.
The LEP will be business led and a chairman will subsequently be elected from the business-based board members.
Once elected, the permanent LEP board will work towards creating an environment that will better facilitate economic growth and private sector investment in the Solent region.
Councillor Sean Woodward, Chairman of the Shadow Board, said:
"We are looking for a balanced Board with a mixture of different skills and backgrounds covering both the economic geography of the Solent area and the key sectors. Board members will be ambassadors for the Solent region and will be leading the work to develop local solutions to enhance the economic prospects for the area."
If you are a senior business leader in the Solent area and would like to sit on the Solent LEP's permanent board, please visit http://www.solentlep.org.uk for more information or contact info@solentlep.org.uk
Posted 2011-02-22 15:37:35
Where to go for information on Innovation in Marine Materials
The Materials Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) is a government funded national network in materials science which brings together people from businesses, universities, research, finance and technology organisations to stimulate innovation through knowledge transfer.
It aims to bring together the materials supply chain to bridge the link from basic research to marketable products, thus improving industrial innovation and global competitiveness of UK business.
This is achieved by:
* Networking through
- organising technical focus events / workshops
- signposting, introductions, funding guidance
- a web platform for topical groups
* Identifying emerging technologies and market needs
- by producing state-of-the-art reports and roadmaps
- helping inform Government strategy
* Strengthening links between Academia, RTOs and Industry, particularly by drawing together and supporting collaborative research consortia
The Materials KTN serves all industrial sectors in UK, including the marine sector, particularly through the composites (run through National Composites Network) and smart materials (run through Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining) sector groups.
You can register at http://www.materialsktn.net for access to many reports relevant to the marine sector. You will also then receive notification of new articles, events and reports.
Composites reports include subjects such as composite recycling, composites in ships, fire resistance, marine roadmap. Presentations are available from Boatbuilding with Advanced Composites: Manufacturing for the Future held in July 2010.
Boatbuilding with Advanced Composites: Smart and Sustainable will be held in June / July 2011 - please register to receive notification when details are available.
Smart reports include subjects such as antifouling technology, structural health monitoring, and an overview of smart materials for the marine environment. Presentations are available from the April 2010 event Cleaning up Marine Antifouling.
Also of interest to small marine businesses is the UK Composites Supply Chain Programme, which is offering free consultancy to small composite businesses.
For further information or if you are seeking guidance or partners for technology development, please contact Stella Job stella.job@materialsktn.net.
Posted 2011-02-22 15:29:18
European Marine Science Applications Consortium project update
Water resource management is becoming an urgent challenge, for Europe and the world, as populations grow and requirements increase. Degradation of our coastal and estuarine waters is of particular concern to policy makers at regional, national, EU and international levels, and increasingly to the public at large.
The EMSAC project aims to address this challenge by ensuring that Europe’s knowledge resource is effectively directed towards building the mix of solutions required. These include: advanced sensing and surveillance systems, improved operational management for resource extraction including renewable energy, better management of coastal ecosystems and protected areas, techniques to minimize impacts of flooding due to sea-level rise, and advances in resource-efficient desalination.
The third work package of EMSAC recently carried out a survey and analysis of research and technology development projects and activities related to coastal water management.
This survey has identified more than 600 research and technology development projects involving the EMSAC partners over the last decade. The most recent projects (ca. 100) have been collated into a relational database, which stores detailed information such as keywords, contact details, and institutions involved.
The database has been designed to allow on-line queries, and is available through the EMSAC website http://www.emsacnet.eu. Its content reflects the actual research technology development skills available in the participating regions relevant to coastal and estuarine water management.
In order to determine if these RTD skills match the innovation priority needs flagged by the Key Markets analysis of WP2, different categories of keywords have been carefully chosen. They are now being used to carry out a gap analysis between market needs and RTD skills (WP 4) and will ultimately to lead to a Joint Action Plan (WP 5).
Posted 2011-02-21 14:24:25
Access work experience students with AIESEC
AIESEC is an international organisation that matches skilled students and recent graduates from over 100 countries with companies in the UK. Companies can access a database of thousands of potential candidates who are looking for traineeships of 2 to 18 months.
AIESEC sends over 4,000 applicants each year to work abroad. All exchange participants are carefully selected - their qualifications have been verified, and they have already acquired teamwork, business, and leadership skills through the "AIESEC eXperience".
The applicants on the database have a huge range of skills, and because they come from over 1,100 top universities in the world they are qualified to work across a range of professional environments.
AIESEC can provide quality people who can hit the ground running in the areas of marketing, finance, project management, business development and IT.
AIESEC is particularly relevant when cost reduction is a priority. They are significantly more cost effective than graduate recruitment agencies and outsourcers.
They recognise the need for fewer, higher quality applications so they present a small number of strong applicants for each role. They can provide candidates with particular language skills or from specific countries of interest and can provide hard-to-find skill sets (eg software development).
What are the costs?
There are two costs: the trainee's salary and the recruitment fee. The salary must cover the expenses of living in the UK (min £12K outside London and £16K in London). The admin fee for a 12 month placement is £1500 + Vat.
What is the process?
Companies complete an AIESEC Job Spec form which is then posted on the AIESEC global intranet. They then use their 'Talent Database' to find suitable profiles. Telephone interviews are conducted and then after selection AIESEC handles all the immigration, accommodation, bank account and travel arrangements for the trainee.
For more information visit http://www.aiesec.org or contact Matthias Kunz matthias.kunz@aiesec.net or call 0759 7960758
Posted 2011-02-15 13:03:19
Steamship Shieldhall struggles for survival
One of the country's most important historic steam ships is struggling for survival. Maritime historians highlighted the plight of the SS Shieldhall last month, amid ongoing concerns that Britain's maritime heritage is in decline.
Budget cuts mean that grants are no longer routinely available to pay for maintenance work on heritage ships and historians say our seafaring nation now risks losing many of its most significant vessels.
Last month, the historic SS Shieldhall, launched an emergency appeal to save her from the scrap yard. Without her essential 'MOT' in May, at an estimated cost of £80,000, the steam ship will be refused a licence to sail, and could be broken up. £20,000 has been raised so far, but the additional £60,000 is now urgently required.
The SS Shieldhall, based at the Port of Southampton, is the largest remaining sea-going steamship in the UK and the last fully operational coastal passenger/cargo steamer in Europe.
She's one of a small number of vessels recognised by the UK's ship 'listing' body, known as the National Historic Ships Unit, and was named their 'Flagship' in 2009. As such, she's recognised as being of significant national importance and operates as a heritage attraction. All vessels 'listed' are considered a high priority for preservation, but unlike historic buildings, the UK's heritage ships aren't guaranteed financial support.
Maritime historians fear that if the money can't be found to get the SS Shieldhall through her May inspection, she will suffer the same fate as the Mersey-based MV Wincham, which was scrapped in April 2009 for want of £60,000 dry-dock costs. In October 2010, the Grimsby paddle steamer, Lincoln Castle, was also broken up after a failed rescue attempt by enthusiasts. A last-minute
appeal has now been launched by the charitable body which runs the ship, The Solent Steam Packet Ltd.
Various fundraising activities are planned and the website http://www.ss-shieldhall.co.uk gives details. It also shows progress towards the target.
Appeal Details:
Donations may be made as follows:
Credit / debit card: visit http://www.justgiving.com/shieldhall or link from the website http://www.ss-shieldhall.co.uk or telephone 07751 603 190
Cheques (payable to The Solent Steam Packet Ltd): Shieldhall Dry-dock Appeal, The Solent Steam Packet Ltd, 15 Foxhayes Lane, Blackfield, Hampshire SO45 1XX
Gift Aid: UK Taxpayers please complete a Gift Aid Declaration to enable us to reclaim tax from HMRC. Forms are available from the Appeal address or via the website.
Posted 2011-02-08 10:21:41
Wave and Tidal Exhibition and Conference 2nd March 2011, London
2nd March 2011, QEII Centre, Westminster, London
Wave and Tidal Energy 2011 is a must for anyone interested in the huge potential for wave and tidal energy, not just in the UK but worldwide. It is a great opportunity to better understand the issues affecting this fast evolving industry and its relevance to the marine and coastal environment.
The UK is already the global leader in wave and tidal energy. With well developed plans for commercial deployment of its projects, a host of testing facilities and significant private investment in the past year, it is on the threshold of rapid growth.
The conference will also look at the critical funding and incentivisation issues on which the future of the industry depends. In particular, will the UK and Scottish Governments ensure the sustained funding that is needed to bridge the technology gap and encourage utilities and original equipment manufacturers to invest in and deliver the world's first energy arrays in the next few years?
With exhibition space already fully sold and over 450 government and industry professionals expected, it presents a golden opportunity to update yourself on all fronts.
The keynote speech will be made by Greg Barker, Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change. Panel speakers include Rob Hastings, Director of Marine Estates, the Crown Estate and Tom Delay, Chief Executive of The Carbon Trust. The event is sponsored by the Crown Estate.
Conference rates:
Full delegate £535 + VAT
RenewableUK company members £440 + VAT
Academics and charities £125 + VAT
Graduates £45 + VAT
For more information visit
http://www.renewable-uk.com/events/wave-tidal-conference/
Posted 2011-02-09 11:53:52
SSA Pavilion Norshipping 2011, 24th-27th May 2011, Norway
Exhibit at Norshipping 2011 for only £1500 +vat with SSA
UK Shipyard and Supply chain stand at Norshipping 2011, Lillestrøm (Oslo), Norway, 24th – 27th May 2011.
Exhibit at the world leading exhibition for the marine industry, Nor-Shipping 2011 alongside leading shipyards and equipment manufacturers from across the world.
SSA has secured an excellent location at the Shipyard Pavilion in Hall B.
Eligible exhibitors can also apply for financial support by way of TAP Grants from UKTI.
For only £1500 + VAT companies can exhibit at NOR shipping, the "Leading Maritime Event ". on the SSA stand.
The package includes:
* Personalised bespoke promotional boards and material on the stand
* Exhibition passes for you and your guests
* Fully manned reception for the duration of the exhition
* Stand furniture and amenities
Located at Lillestrøm, situated a few miles outside Oslo, the exhibition also includes five different conferences scheduled throughout the week, the well-known Nor-Shipping
barbeque party, held at Det Norske Veritas (DNV), and maritime career events are also planned.
* Nor-Shipping Opening Conference, May 24
* TradeWinds Offshore Marine, May 24
* Agenda Offshore, hosted by Nor-Shipping, May 25
* TradeWinds Oslo Shipping Forum, May 25
* Marine Money Norway Ship & Offshore Finance Forum, May 26
For more information and to reserve your space, please contact Laura Sheriff office@ssa.org.uk
0191 567 8965 as soon as possible as there are limited spaces available.
