NIACE recently hosted a technology road mapping workshop conducted by Professor Isobel Pollock,
President of Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), and native of Northern Ireland.
The event which was sponsored by Invest Northern Ireland was open to companies in the engineering
and manufacturing sector and participating member companies of NIACE. Members of Invest NI’s
Collaborative R&D Support Service also attended.
Attendees were given an insight on how best to formulate strategy around research and development,
and also were shown practical tools to help them reach their objectives.
Robert McConnell, Engineering Manager at Ballygowan based CCP Grandsen Ltd said, “The event
was very well organised and the content was excellent. I found it very useful and Professor Pollock
tailored the content to suit the participating companies, so that regardless of the different industries
we all work in, all attendees were given practical advice on how to put a framework around research
planning.”
Carol Keery, Director of R&D at Invest Northern Ireland said, “I hope that the workshop will help the
participating companies to develop a strategic research agenda enabling increased participation in
collaborative research and development at NIACE, and indeed encourage other companies to join.
We were delighted to have supported the event and the feedback so far has been excellent.”
The Northern Ireland Advanced Composites and Engineering Centre (NIACE) is a technology hub
for the research and development of advanced engineering and advanced materials technologies
across a range of industrial sectors. Its vision is to establish a world leading knowledge hub that
delivers innovative solutions for industry through collaborative research and technological
advancement. Opened in January 2012, and based at purpose built, state of the art facilities at
Airport Road, Belfast, NIACE Centre currently has eight participating company members from a
variety of sectors, and two university partners carrying out research
