On 15 March 2023 itDf exhibited at the launch of the Innovation Network South Yorkshire Showcase, hosted by the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University, and held at the Millenium Galleries in Sheffield.
The organisers invited us to attend after spotting us at the Millenium Galleries back in September when we were there for the Futurecade, part of the Festival of the Mind 2023. They thought the story, of a Wellcome Trust-funded project working with a university department (Sheffield Robotics and the Department of Computer Science, where Professor Tony Prescott and Dr Michael Szollosy are work) and with a company recently spun out from the University (BOW Software), was an important one to tell, and it gave us the opportunity to highlight more of the great work that itDf can do in partnership with these other organisations.
We had many really interesting discussions with guests talking about itDf, who we are and what we do. Visitors were fascinated by we draw together all of the backgrounds and disciplines that make up the itDf team. Many guests were particularly interested in how we look at the intersections between technology and disability, and how we imagine technology transforming lives in the future; as we explained, however, we’re also very much interested in how they imagine technology impacting our lives and, specifically, those of disabled people, in the future,
The Innovation Network South Yorkshire Network, previously known as the MD Club, seeks to bring together businesses and organisations who have collaborated with academic and professional services staff across the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University through research partnerships, funding bodies, and student placements, with a particular focus on transformative technologies and research. Through the Innovation Network, the two universities are working together to strengthen connections between academics, businesses and industries in South Yorkshire.
Other exhibitors on the night included Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), Braun Medical, STEPS Prosthetics, Opteran, Magnomatics, and a host of researchers from both The University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University, new start-ups and spin-outs, and investors.