Eco-I North West Events
Support is available to European Regional Development Fund eligible companies. To find out if your company is eligible for support please contact
Mike Siddall- Eco-I North West Project Manager
07779132185
ECO-I NORTH WEST IS A LOW CARBON INNOVATION PROJECT DELIVERING BUSINESS SUPPORT THROUGH RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Eco-I NW seeks to support low carbon business innovations across the region through a variety of short and long term interventions. The aim is to deliver a transition to a low carbon economy in all sectors.
The project is not led by specific technologies, but instead is driven by business needs and helps to facilitate a collaborative approach to problem solving.
Collaboration is at the heart of Eco-I NW- our partnership includes the universities of Lancaster, Central Lancashire, Cumbria, Liverpool John Moores, Liverpool and Manchester Met, and operates across multiple LEP areas in the North West.
In Cumbria, we are keen to hear from and work with SME’s who want to make innovative changes to their products or services, in order to reduce their carbon output.
ECO-I NW builds on a previous ERDF-funded Eco-Innovation project. You can read about that project here: Eco Innovation Review
How Eco-I North West can help your business
Internships and Masters Research placements
Through Eco-I North West, the University of Cumbria offers assistance for businesses wishing to make carbon-reducing innovation through the support of skilled and experienced student researchers.
- Internships provide 20 days (140 hours) of flexible research support to meet the innovation needs of your business.
- Masters placements provide up to 4-months of in depth research
Innovation Workshop and Events
A programme of funded workshop and events created to meet the needs of businesses innovation. The programme focuses on different aspects of the innovation journey. Previous events focused on topic that included;
- Life Cycling thinking
- Renewable energy
- Carbon Accounting
- Low Carbon Food
- Heat and ventilation
- Electric vehicles
- Sustainable Floristry
These events provide business with a number of great opportunities to hear from expert speakers, network with other Cumbrian business, and share best practice.
What are the benefits of Eco-I North West to your business?
- Access to knowledge and insight - When a business works with universities the return on R&D more than doubles according to UK Government statistics. (Dowling Review 2015)
- Gain tools which shape your innovation business ideas and inspire a low carbon culture
- Access extensive research and development support at state of the art laboratories and facilities
- Reduce the risk and address the barriers and challenges to innovation within a supportive environment
- Develop new low carbon products and services
- Speed up innovation and support transition to zero carbon
- Create a network of like-minded businesses to explore and share new ideas
Next Steps
For more information please contact
Mike Siddall- Eco-I North West Project Manager
07779132185
What are the benefits of Eco-I North West for students?
Eco-I North West provides a number of research placements and internships for students interested in low carbon innovation. These are an ideal way for students to extend their research skills, enhance employability by researching for a real business, strengthen CVs, and gain excellence references.
There are two options for students wishing to get involved with low carbon innovation research:
- Paid internships lasting for a maximum of 140 hours. Internships are usually worked flexibly, and can be done on campus or with the business. Students often undertake internships whilst studying and some use the experience as a theme for their dissertation.
- Paid* Masters research placements lasting for the duration of the student’s research modules, usually up to 4 months (*stipend paid each month of the research dissertation module). Masters students usually use the 4-month placements to generate evidence for their research dissertation. Like internships, the Masters placements are flexible and can be managed alongside other commitments.
All students are supported by academic supervisors and mentored by the Project Manager. We are on hand to answer any questions you may have and to ensure that your placement is enjoyable and productive.
What are the benefits of undertaking a student research placement or internship?
- Getting paid fairly for the research you do
- Adding to your CV by increasing your skills, knowledge & experience
- Helping you to gain an insight into the way organisations operate and the challenges they face
- Providing opportunities to gain evidence and research for your dissertation
- Reasonable travel expenses will be paid
- Playing a part in Cumbria’s transition to zero carbon
Student internships and masters placements: how to search and apply
Student internship opportunities are advertised on the current vacancies section of the University Of Cumbria website.
Be the first to hear about opportunities by registering your interest and signing up here.
Along with Eco-I North West, the University Of Cumbria is also hosting the Cumbria Innovation Platform (CUSP). CUSP is similar to Eco-I North West in providing research and development support for SME’s to innovate, only without the focus on carbon reduction. For further information, see Cumbria Innovations Platform
You may also be interested in the other Eco-I North West project being delivered by our partner universities:
