Life sciences industry association Medilink Midlands welcomed the City of Brampton, Canada delegation to the Midlands on 15 May to showcase some of the leading life sciences and medtech facilities based in the region. Delegates included the City of Brampton’s Clare Barnett, Director of Economic Development & International Relations, Fouzia Younas MBE, UK Consul General in Toronto, Vikram Khurana, CEO of Brampton start-up incubator, BHive, and Cia Prior, Associate Director of Marketing & Communications at BHive.
The delegation visited the Medical Technologies Innovation Facility (MTIF) at Nottingham Trent University, Loughborough University and its National Centre of Sports & Exercise Medicine, and Charnwood Campus in Loughborough where they met with representatives and guests from each organisation, toured the world-class facilities, networked, and discovered what the Midlands has to offer. As the voice of the medtech industry, Medilink Midlands, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, is developing ongoing global partnerships to expand global reach and opportunities for the life sciences, medtech and health sectors in the region.
Joanne Bekis, Head of Partnerships at Medilink Midlands, explains: “We were delighted to host the City of Brampton, Canada and showcase the Medilink Midlands region, our partners, and the exceptional medtech and life science facilities and businesses that reside here. “As the second largest employer sector in the Midlands, life sciences businesses in the region are growing at pace, with a diverse range of companies choosing to call the Midlands home. Supported by strong transport infrastructure and the freeport, the Midlands has truly become the powerhouse of medtech, and we welcome all our international partners to see for themselves what talent, ability, and opportunities we have.”
As one of the fastest-growing cities in Canada, Brampton is home to nearly 700,000 people and more than 100,000 businesses and is embarking on a journey to lead technological and environmental innovation.
Fouzia Younis, MBE, British Consul General Toronto, comments: “It is through our people-to-people connections that the unique bond between the UK and Canada prospers and flourishes. I am delighted to show the City of Brampton just some of the breadth of medical expertise and innovation which the UK has to offer, and especially proud that their visit included the Midlands. I know first-hand the depth of technological and business expertise which my home area has to offer which makes it a must-visit for our friends from Brampton.”
Professor John Hunt, Academic and Research Lead at the Medical Technologies Innovation Facility (MTIF), says: “We were pleased to warmly welcome the City of Brampton, Canada delegation to MTIF and our state-of-the-art Innovation Centre on Nottingham Trent University’s Clifton Campus. The City of Brampton, Ontario marks its 50th anniversary this year and is one of the fastest growing regions in Canada. It is clear we share the same values and vision for supporting business growth by enabling innovation. We are excited to continue to explore how we can collaborate and contribute to future health and address unmet needs of communities and ecosystems.”
Scott Knight, Regional Engagement Manager at Loughborough University adds: “It was a pleasure to meet and host the delegation for a networking lunch during their visit to Our Region. Conversations quickly turned to collaborative opportunities for Sport, Health, Wellbeing – all core to the Brampton Mosaic Vision 2040 and, of course, our 2030 Strategy- “Creating Better Futures. Together”. We look forward to continuing to build our relationships further”.
Gosia Khrais, Commercial and Marketing Director, Charnwood Campus, Science Innovation and Technology Park, commented; “We were delighted to host the City of Brampton delegation to Charnwood Campus. As a leading next generation life sciences park being able to showcase the depth and breadth of the life sciences commercial expertise in the region in order to develop further collaborations is essential. The Campus is the heart of the Leicestershire Life Sciences Cluster, which is produces £900m of GVA and accounts for 14,200 jobs. The delegation thoroughly enjoyed touring Charnwood Discovery, a leading provider of drug discovery services, and we look forward to developing new collaborative relationships.”