Michaela Eschbach, CEO at Cambridge Wireless, pictured at the UK Telecoms Innovation Ecosystem Conference in London, 30 May 2024
Introducing UKTIN
At the end of May, the UK Telecoms Innovation Network (UKTIN) held the UK’s inaugural innovation ecosystem conference at the IET London. With nearly 250 people in attendance it was a chance to bring together industry, academia and government to discuss future capability, commercialisation, skills and adoption.
It was also an important juncture in UKTIN’s journey, having recently passed the milestone of twelve months of delivering services to the ecosystem. In that time a lot has changed - both for UKTIN and in the market - but throughout this time CW, as a delivery partner, has been working hard to deliver value to the ecosystem.
It feels like a good time to recap therefore. What exactly is UKTIN, and how can CW members get involved and benefit from our involvement in the network?
What is UKTIN?
Put simply, it’s an inclusive and collaborative forum for the UK telecoms innovation ecosystem, bringing together industry, government and academia to catalyse R&D investment, cooperation and commercialisation.
UKTIN encompasses all the different sub-systems of telecoms, not just wireless, and in a nutshell its activities can be described as: mapping and connecting the ecosystem, supporting innovation, building future capability and setting the sector up for long-term success.
It also represents both sides of the ecosystem - supply and demand - convened, supported and championed through one network, focused on facilitating, enabling and turbo-charging collaboration. This starts by taking a sectoral view to the opportunities and challenges the ecosystem faces, co-creation of a shared strategic vision, and runs all the way through to knowledge sharing and providing a platform for sharing best practices, research findings, and market insights. In this way UKTIN is designed to help all involved in the ecosystem to thrive and capitalise on emerging opportunities.
What is CW’s role in UKTIN?
As one of the four partners responsible for delivering UKTIN, CW plays a critical role in the network’s operations, leading the marketing and events programme, as well as providing the UKTIN Supplier Specialist Guidance Service.
Building on CW’s experience and expertise in delivering industry events, UKTIN’s robust events programme aims to inform and connect, and includes presence and participation at key industry events alongside UKTIN branded events, which range from round tables to share research findings, through to hero events exploring big ticket topics such as AI. Since the UKTIN launch event in April 2023, the network has engaged in over 50 events and welcomed over 800 people to UKTIN events.
CW team members deliver the Supplier Specialist Guidance Service, a unique concierge offering that helps signpost to organisations, universities, test facilities and individuals; identify relevant sources of funding; foster introductions; and support in the formation of consortiums. Operating both in the UK and on the international stage, the CW Specialist Advisers have recorded over 670 interactions so far and their impact is easy to identify. Of the 19 consortia in the government’s ONE competition, 13 were supported in consortium forming by UKTIN, and two out of three of the DSIT spectrum sandbox projects, with even established players in the sector observing how invaluable this service has been to them.
What value does UKTIN offer to CW members?
With nearly 6.500 individuals and 2,900 organisations registered with UKTIN, it represents a significant ecosystem that CW members can tap into to broaden networks, and strengthen and forge new relationships, both in wireless, other telecoms sub-systems and adjacent sectors such as quantum, cyber, AI and space.
UKTIN regularly promotes CW activities and events, ensuring that our activities get national exposure and attendance at UKTIN events is a great way to both network and further promote the work being done across the CW SIGs.
Our Specialist Supplier Guidance Service is free to use - if you would like support in making connections, need an introduction, or just want some advice around potential funding routes, our Specialist Advisers are always especially keen to help CW members. You can book an appointment with the team here.
Start-ups and SMEs can also tap into the UKTN Small Business Support programme, delivered through the UKTIN Innovation Platform. Specifically designed to support early-stage telecoms R&D companies to navigate this ecosystem, fully funded tailored growth programmes are available with a focus on commercialising through partnerships and raising investment. More details on the support here.
Passionate about skills and diversity in our sector? UKTIN offers mechanisms to engage and drive that agenda forward too. The UKTIN Talent Group convenes not just the telecoms industry but educators, careers advisors and training providers. Membership is open to all and new faces and perspectives are always welcome. Get in touch with the team at enquiries@uktin.net.
UKTIN is a vast programme with multiple opportunities to get involved and services to utilise. We all benefit from having a thriving UK telecoms ecosystem. And CW members can particularly benefit from CW being a UKTIN delivery partner.
How will you engage?
- Find out more about the work of UKTIN.
- Register as a member of UKTIN.
- Sign up to the UKTIN newsletter to stay up-do-date on all the latest news.
