Organised by representatives from the All Party Parliamentary Design & Innovation group, the event consisted of a panel discussion with Chi Onwurah, MP for Newcastle and Shadow Minister for Digital Economy, Ben Howlett, the Conservative MP for Bath, Professor Rachel Cooper OBE, director of design research centre ImaginationLancaster, Jeremy Myerson for the RCA and Bill Thompson, one of the board members of The Creative Exchange for the BBC.
The event highlighted the importance of the digital economy, the rise of a Northern Powerhouse of digital companies and collaboration, and the unique way academia can contribute to designing innovative and different ways of using technology – new and old.
The room was packed out to witness partners in The Creative Exchange project swapping stories of their involvement and the benefits they gained from working together. They included Richard Koeck from Liverpool University, Lee Omar from design-led technology company Red Ninja and PhD researcher Lara Salinas, who worked together on a project called ‘Open Planning’, designed to help open up the planning permission process with Liverpool City Council.
Naomi Jacobs
Rachel Cooper
Roger Whitham