On the 10th January 2025, over 100 guests attended the inaugural Blue Zone Consortium event, focused on securing better health, ageing and wellbeing.
Held at Clifton Campus, Nottingham Trent University, the event saw innovators, businesses, researchers and academics from across the health and life sciences sector come together to explore cross-sector collaboration, in ways to reduce the number of people living with multiple morbidities and increase numbers of people living longer healthier lives.
Speaking on behalf of the Blue Zone Consortium, Project Manager Raj Crossley said:
“As our inaugural networking event, we were thrilled by the overwhelming interest from both academia and industry, as well as representatives from NHS Trusts and local councils. This resounding response underscores the critical importance of such gatherings. These events serve as invaluable platforms for bringing together industry leaders, innovators, and researchers to nurture the knowledge transfer of ideas, enabling individuals to gain unique insights and connect with those they might not otherwise encounter.
We are actively seeking partnerships with industry to drive progress, leveraging our world-class facilities, academic expertise, and access to unique funding opportunities that may not be readily available to businesses independently.”
Raj added:
“We want to emphasise that as a university, one of our key priorities is working with industry to create impact through commercialisation and innovation.”
During the opening presentations, delegates were introduced to a £15k funding opportunity through the Blue Zone Consortium Flexible Talent Mobility Award (FTMA). A UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) funding award to enable cross-sector and interdisciplinary knowledge exchange within healthy ageing and biosciences by facilitating mobility between academics, business, public sector and third sector organisations.
Hua Zhong, Associate Professor at London South Bank University, a recipient of FTMA funding stated:
“It is very challenging to access big funding in the current economic climate, but we can use a small funding to build up evidence, which may consequently bring us to the next stage with bigger funding. So, this kind of small funding pilot project is actually very helpful.
The funding will be used across an across interdisciplinary project with three universities and one industrial partner to analyse air pollution data based on the AI technology and its impact on elderly people to create a benchmark for the air pollution level and give an indicator for those living and designing the building environment.”
Rebecca Stokes – Director of Research Strategy and Operations, NTU commented:
“As is the case with many Grand Challenges, healthy ageing requires a multi-disciplinary approach to develop and deliver viable solutions, that take cutting edge science right through to practical application – the ambition of the Blue Zone Consortium is to do just that.
Our programme included a great mixture of activities including Flash Talks, Insight Exchange Activities, Thematic Discussions, Posters and Tours, as well as a session to start developing collaborative project ideas.”
The Blue Zone Consortium, a partnership established in 2024, between Nottingham Trent University, University of Leicester and Northumbria University supports the delivery and development of innovative solutions to support real world outcomes to improve human health, targeting metabolic health; health and ageing across the life course; and transformative technologies to tackle health inequalities.
- FTMA 2025-2026 funding call will open in spring 2025
- FTMA Funding Call Q&A: Spring 2025
- FTMA Funding Call deadline: July 2025
For more information, visit: https://ukhaic.ac.uk/funding-opportunities/bluezone-competitions/ or contact [email protected]