Science City Bristol hosts national Science Summit

Could better networking and more open sharing of ideas help the Bristol city region become a globally recognised hub of innovation? That’s just one of the questions that will be tackled at this week’s Science Cities Summit in Bath.

The Bristol city region was designated one of six Science Cities by the Government in 2005 in recognition of its outstanding achievements and strengths in science. The other five Science Cities are Manchester, York, Newcastle, Birmingham and Nottingham.

The 6th Annual Science Cities Summit will take place at the Assembly Rooms in Bath on 8-9 October, with scientists and innovators from all over the UK gathering to exchange ideas and experiences.

Each science city has unique strengths and challenges but all are working to use their science city status to drive economic development through science and technology and to improve linkages within the scientific community both key themes of the Summit.

Greg Horowitt, Founder of Global Connect, is flying in from San Diego to talk about how that city transformed itself over 25 years to become one of the world’s most admired technology and life sciences clusters. Bristol academic and broadcaster Kathy Sykes will discuss ‘connected cities’ and how science can be used to connect communities.

The Bristol city region has earned its Science City status because of its remarkable pedigree of science, innovation and engineering. The area around Bristol and Bath is home to the biggest silicon design cluster anywhere in the world outside Silicon Valley, influencing everything from mobile communications and the development of the internet to digital TV. The Bristol area is also home to the UK’s largest robotics lab, which is pioneering the development of robotic devices to support us in years to come.

Not only will the Science Summit be taking place in the Bristol city region for the first time, but it will also see the handing over of the chairmanship of the Science Cities national group to the region for the next 12 months.

For 10 Amazing things that Bristol gave to the world download the Science City Bristol booklet((File size: 5MB))

The Science City Bristol film, “a day in the life of the city” can be viewed on the Science City Bristol YouTube channel