This report sets out the findings of a review into the effectiveness of the Flood Risk Management Overview & Scrutiny Committee (England) Regulations 2011.
ObjectTech chief executive, Paul Ferris (right), signs an agreement with Ali Ibrahim, Deputy Director General of Dubai Economy.
The founder and chief executive of ObjectTech, Paul Ferris, appears in this year’s list alongside global names such as Allen Zhang, the creator of WeChat. Only 12 of the people included in the list are from the UK.
The list is compiled by One World Identity, an independent identity research company focused on cyber security, digital commerce and risk management. The list includes identity pioneers and innovators, ranging from individual entrepreneurs to members of large organisations.
People are currently facing an unprecedented number of requests from organisations asking to use their identity data – from banking, to travel, to ordering a coffee. The challenge posed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel at Davos in January 2018 was: “Data is the raw material of the 21st century, the question is who owns it?”.
However, ObjectTech is taking a different approach by helping people to control their own identity in a process known as Self-Sovereign Identity (SSID).
SSID is a process that enables people and businesses to store their identity data on their own remote platform – known as a ‘locker’, rather than in a centralised database. ObjectTech has designed and developed an application programme interface (API) which allows existing systems to integrate with SSID technology through a simple interface. This allows people to provide proof of their identity without the need to share actual data.
Paul Ferris said:
Imagine getting on a plane – anywhere in the world – and getting off again, anywhere in the world, and each time you disembark, there is no passport control – no queues, no hassle, no delays. The border authorities will already know who boarded the aircraft. And not just you – anyone who is using our new self-sovereign identity technology could do the same.
This technology could help you open and operate a bank account more easily, with faster and more accurate identity checks. As well as saving you time, this would also help banks and other businesses reduce costs – just imagine the benefits this could bring to any industry or public service.
Like a catalyst, we are converting the operation of identity into a global system, fit for the 21st century. We’ve solved the problem of identity management, not by changing existing data infrastructures, but rather through fundamentally changing the way they work.
ObjectTech’s SSID technology is attracting interest from several major global organisations. The company is working on the Dubai government’s new contactless payments system and is exploring opportunities with other airport hubs around the world.
Ali Ibrahim, Deputy Director General of Dubai Economy, said:
A digital currency has advantages in faster processing, improved delivery time, and less complexity and cost. It will change the way people live and do business in Dubai and mark a giant leap for the city in harnessing game-changing innovations to improve the ease of business and quality of life. We are delighted to have ObjectTech as our partner in this initiative.
Ferris is advising the World Economic Forum on their Trusted Traveller Program, part of the system initiative on shaping the future of mobility. He is also a global convener for the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard on identity in blockchain.
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The £8 million funding boost to the ICURe pilot will see the University of Warwick and Queen’s University Belfast join the programme.
An £8 million expansion of the Innovation to Commercialisation of University Research (ICURe) pilot programme will allow even more commercially-promising ideas to get to market more quickly.
The funding will see the University of Warwick and Queen’s University Belfast join the programme, which is supported by Innovate UK, part of the new national funding body UK Research and Innovation.
The universities will work alongside delivery partner, SETsquared Partnership to run and grow the programme across the UK. Final contracts to run this phase of the pilot will be signed shortly.
ICURe’s focus is on training early-career researchers to find the right route to commercialisation and helping them develop the necessary business skills, connections and expertise. It aligns with government’s Industrial Strategy, which emphasises the importance of research, innovation and skills to develop a strong economy and ensure Britain leads the high-tech, highly-skilled industries of the future.
With this funding boost, the pilot programme will be able to support an additional 48 research teams nationwide.
University researchers can get up to £35,000 to take their ideas out of the lab and validate them in the market.
A total of £3 million of the funding will go towards helping the start-ups that emerge from the programme to establish their businesses and support future growth. This will be competitively awarded by Innovate UK.
It builds on the success of the pilot to date. Research estimates that for every £1 of investment spent through ICURe it generates almost £4 of economic benefits in return. The pilot has engaged 160 university research teams to generate more than 11,000 business links worldwide and create 120 jobs in 44 new companies.
Business Secretary, Greg Clark said:
Britain is famous for its innovations. From the humble toothbrush to hip replacements, the ATM to the World Wide Web – these inventions have had a huge impact on our daily lives.
Up and down the UK, some of the brightest and best talent are undertaking research which can deliver extraordinary innovations that will transform our society for the better.
Through the Industrial Strategy, the 4 grand challenges, and the funding announced today, we are helping turn innovative new ideas into products and services which could help change our lives and keep the UK as a world leader in developing the products of tomorrow.
UK Research and Innovation Chief Executive, Sir Mark Walport said:
Supporting the very best talent and bridging the gap between research and commercialisation are 2 of UK Research and Innovation’s core objectives. We are a world-leading research nation and we must ensure that our innovation ecosystem supports the effective translation of this research into products with real-world impact.
The ICURe programme enables this translation by providing researchers with the funding to move ideas out of universities and into the marketplace, where they will have the greatest impact.
From converting Medtech discoveries into new treatments to developing portable devices to counter infectious diseases, this additional funding will support ground-breaking projects that will enable us to meet future challenges and remain at the cutting-edge of research and innovation.
Don Spalinger, Chairman of the SETsquared Partnership, and Director, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Southampton said:
SETsquared created ICURe to overcome some of the barriers of getting the outputs from the UK’s world class universities research labs into the commercial marketplace.
ICURe’s results from its first 3 years of operation go beyond our expectations. This expansion of ICURe’s nation roll-out will enable even more research teams at more UK universities to take advantage of its proven capabilities. ICURe enables university research teams to explore all avenues of commercialisation, from collaborative research to consultancy to licensing to spin-outs.
The ICURe experience empowers the university research teams to work more closely with businesses in all of their future activities.
Professor Stuart Croft, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Warwick, said:
Warwick is renowned for the many ways it acts as a highly effective bridge for innovation between academic research and industry, and we are therefore delighted to be a key part of the national rollout of ICURe with its focus on helping early-career researchers taking their innovations into the marketplace.
Warwick will also draw on the innovation-based partnerships across the Midlands such as Midlands Innovation, the Midlands Engine, and the Midlands Enterprise Universities teams, to ensure that this programme helps create even more innovation-based jobs and business growth across our region.
Brian McCaul, CEO of Qubis Ltd and Director of Innovation at Queen’s University Belfast, said:
Having had 9 teams graduate from ICURe, and having run 3 of our own Lean Launchpad programmes, Queen’s and Qubis have been pioneers with lean start-up in tech transfer. The focus on the customer-need is the perfect antidote to tech-push.
We have already seen significant commercial benefits, whether measured by deals done, or learnings achieved, especially with early-career researchers. We are convinced that ‘lean changes’, change everything.
We’re now keen to work with our partners to accelerate ICURe adoption across Northern Ireland, Scotland and the North of England. This is a vital initiative for rebalancing the UK innovation economy.