LabNotes

In February, Gregor Rae, Chairman and CEO of BusinessLab, gave an inaugural lecture to the International MBA student cohort at the University of Aberdeen. "The Art of the Pitch" is the first of two modules intended to help students improve and finesse their presentations to potential investors and employers. The second module is entitled "The Science of the Pitch".

The future is in Newcastle

Technology Watch website lauds the Microsoft Corporation - ActiveAge presentation at the Gerontological Society of America's annual conference in New Orleans, and cites Newcastle upon Tyne as 'the future' in terms of ageing.

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ActiveAge

The ActiveAge team has started another wave of research into robotics, which will provide the theme for the next ActiveAge publication. A Newcastle partner meeting has also been scheduled for the 26th of January, when plans for the 2011 ActiveAge Summit will be finalised.

Renewables

The BusinessLab research team has been looking into the growing renewable energy sector. The team is particularly interested in the markets and business models that are developing within this area - and the strategies and processes that are being deployed to capitalise on the opportunities.

More Agents for Swansea

The City and County of Swansea Council are training up a new cohort of Signature Agents. A total of 36 new Agents are being trained to deploy the Family Learning Signature with families across the city.

Home Consultancy NExT Generation : Step Change for the North East Economy (2006)

NExT Generation :

Step Change for the North East Economy (2006)

For the last 30 years, the economy of North East Scotland has been one of the most buoyant in the UK. The primary reason for this has been the major presence of the UK North Sea oil and gas industry in the city of Aberdeen.

The future of the industry, however, is about decline, albeit innovative technology and management is combining to reduce the rate of that decline. The main focus, therefore, for those responsible for planning the economic development of Aberdeen city and shire, has been on securing the future of the region beyond oil and gas.

Having closely researched best practice in economic development strategies since the 1940's and particpated in a number of UK, US and European initiatives since the 1980s, BusinessLab were appointed by the economic forum to design and deploy a process to engage the private sector in developing the next generation of economic step change projects that would inspire and attract support and investment.

Our NExT Generation programme, regarded by the Scottish government as a role model for others to follow, brought together the leadership from over 200 organisations to develop three breakthrough projects. One of these, 'Energetica', is a 30-mile, post carbon energy corridor to attract and secure a global cluster of enterprise and innovation for the north east.

'Energetica' has now been integrated into the structure plan for Aberdeen city and shire.