With DPRTE 2018 – the UK’s leading defence procurement and supply chain event – looming large on the horizon, focus has begun to shift towards the packed events programme at hand.
Official Event Partner: Knowledge Transfer Network
A myriad of keynote speakers, defence sector experts and distinguished exhibitors await, with in-depth contributions divvied up between five distinct Knowledge Transfer Zones:
- Technology and Innovation
- Supply Chain and Partnering
- Buyer Excellence in Procurement
- Export and Business Growth
- Doing Business with the US Department of Defense
The hope here is to complement and enhance the skills and experience of all attendees, be they buyers or suppliers, and create a melting pot for new ideas and fruitful partnerships.
Today, our focus is the Technology and Innovation Zone, which will play host to many of the UK defence sector’s best and brightest. Among them, representatives from the Knowledge Transfer Network will grapple with the concept of ‘open innovation’ and pose a simple but essential question – what can UK defence learn from the commercial sector?
For the uninitiated, open innovation is – in its simplest form – “using other people’s ideas”. “The challenge is to find the right ideas to use,” said a Knowledge Transfer Network spokesperson.
“Some of this comes in being able to articulate the challenge in a way that other sectors will understand. The agri-tech sector won’t understand C4ISR, however it does use satellite, drone and other sensor data to detect and eliminate insurgents in a contested environment.”
This crucial overlap in skills and experience has the potential to revolutionise the way in which we as a sector operate. And the advent of sophisticated and readily available technology has made keeping pace all the more important.
The defence sector must remain in step with its commercial counterparts. But where do we begin when searching for new ideas and how do we discern a potential game-changer from a lame-duck? It is these core concerns that the Knowledge Transfer Network looks set to address.
To hear more about the importance of open innovation and learn how your business can benefit from new ideas, book your place at DPRTE 2018 now: http://www.dprte.co.uk/book-now/
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