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The Tees Valley Innovation Accelerator (TIA) project

Public funding, product development and consultancy to Tees Valley SMEs

The Tees Valley Innovation Accelerator (TIA) has been established to help companies drive innovation and produce new products, process and services.

It is delivered by TWI Middlesbrough (based in the Teesside Advanced Manufacturing Park, TeesAMP) and Teesside University who will provide fully funded support to any Small and Medium sized Enterprise (SME) in the Tees Valley.

The project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund in the Northern Powerhouse Region and was launched in June 2020.

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Helping businesses in the Tees Valley area bring product ideas to market

TIA will enable companies in the Tees Valley to leverage public funding and have access to consultation and prototyping services thereby maximising their potential to exploit new technological concepts.

This is a publically funded service to Tees Valley SMEs, to support/accelerate the transformation of SME innovations into commercial products, services or processes.

TWI will help navigate from idea to market whilst Teesside University will support prototyping.

 

Our objectives

  • Support innovative SMEs operating in the Tees Valley area to realise their ambitions.
  • Help SMEs leverage public funding to drive innovation.
  • Increase the proportion of Tees Valley SMEs that are innovative.
  • Support the development of new technologies and products for new and existing markets.
  • Help Tees Valley SME’s remain relevant in a rapidly changing world.
  • Create a legacy of innovation within SMEs which will support future growth.

TWI will provide:

  • INNOVATION REVIEW 
    with unbiased assessment and guidance on the next steps
  • PROSPECTIVE PARTNERS
    from TWI’s Industrial Membership base and Innovation Networks to work with you
  • GUIDANCE
    on the optimal way to apply for collaborative public grant funding
  • MANAGEMENT
    of the complete funding process from proposal development to final submission

Academic specialities at Teesside University:

Teesside academics working in conjunction with experts at TWI will provide a product prototyping service. Located in the north of England, the university has specialities across a range of business applications:

  • Electronics
  • Mechanics
  • Photonics
  • Internet of Things (IoT)
  • Biology
  • Chemistry

And is able to provide:

  • Manufacturing simulation
  • Manufacturing facilities
  • Combining physical components with sensing and actuating elements
  • Development of Smart Products
  • Development of computing devices
  • Integration and connectivity development