Norwich Research Park showcases top talent as one of Europe’s leading hubs for innovation in agriculture at second Industry Poster Showcase event at Centrum on Thursday, 24th September. The event fosters collaboration between academics, entrepreneurs and industry partners, and included representatives from multinationals such as Bayer, Corteva and Syngenta, and local companies including Briar Chemicals and British Sugar. Industry partners that attended the event – from Syngenta and Bayer – were very impressed by the talent and science on display for the second year running.
“The showcase clearly demonstrated that the Norwich Research Park can attract top science talent from around the world, to create a unique innovation ecosystem capable of both driving fundamental understanding of biological sciences and applying that understanding to create new technologies to improve our food system. The quality and breadth of science on display was outstanding, and the UK is fortunate to have a world-leading plant sciences hub within its borders.” Dr David Hughes, Syngenta
“Norwich Research Park is among the top four European hubs for Innovation in Agriculture. Let’s further strengthen this ecosystem through quality interactions and peer support among the diversity of stakeholders; academics and funding agencies, startups and venture capital, and the BigAg industry players.” Dr Florian Jupe, Bayer AG
The event brought everyone together for an afternoon of presentations, a panel discussion and one-to-one conversations around a display of 28 academic posters, which set out new and novel ideas that the industry partners could adopt in order to create new commercial opportunities for the sector and for the Norwich Research Park community.
Dr Nick Goodwin, Chief Operating Officer, Anglia Innovation Partnership LLP, opened the event with an update on Norwich Research Park and the future growth plans for the campus, which included a progress report on the construction of the new Hawkmoth Building (63,000 sq ft) and news of the significant funding that the start-up companies – based on campus – have raised in the last 12 months, from both public funding and private investors.
The panel discussion was led by Jodi-Rae Green, AIP’s Science Collaboration Manager (agri-biotech), covered ‘What’s hot and what’s not?’ in agri-biotech, as well as the potential for biologicals, the impact of government regulation and the value of the open innovation approach. This provided industry insights and considered new opportunities in the sector. There was also advice from the panel to campus companies, about how to break into global markets.
On the panel of industry representatives were:
- Dr Florian Jupe – Strategic Partnerships Lead at Bayer AG
- Dr David Hughes – Head of New Technology Evaluation at Syngenta
- Dr Ryan Rapp – Origination Partner at Flagship Pioneering
- Ms Emily Ryen Gloinson – Senior Policy Advisor at The Royal Society
The real stars of the event were the poster exhibitors from across the campus. They showcased their latest cutting-edge science and demonstrated the ongoing innovation taking place. Discussion around a poster provides a chance for academics, entrepreneurs and industry partners to make meaningful connections.
Closing remarks were provided by Jodi-Rae who later stated: “What an exciting day for Norwich Research Park. We were delighted with the engagement from our resident researchers and start-up companies. I am enthused by the meaningful connections our poster presenters made with the visiting delegates, and look forward to facilitating further opportunities to take the campus science to the next level.”
Nick commented, “Having run a successful first event in 2025, it was great to welcome back more representatives from industry working in the agrifood sector to participate in strategic discussions with our institute directors from the Earlham Institute, John Innes Centre, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals, Quadram Institute, The Sainsbury Laboratory, and the University of East Anglia, and to explore future opportunities to work more closely together in an open innovation system. This format has proved to be an inspiring one, and it has become an annual fixture in the corporate calendar.”
To see more photos of the event, visit our event gallery.
Watch our highlight reel:
