Report

AMIC – Strategic Technology Roadmap

The Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre at Queen’s University Belfast has launched its Strategic Technology Plan.

Across the range of industries, Northern Ireland manufacturing, which is a significant part of the local economy, has a strong local competitive position, but a relatively weak global one. In general, across the sector, companies – aside from some well-known major and ‘niche’ players – hold a relatively poor knowledge of markets and competitors.

The economy is dominated by a long ‘tail’ of small companies who presently have limited innovation capability and will, without considerable help and encouragement, struggle to take up new technologies and who risk falling prey to more agile international competitors.

AMIC has a potentially key role, the development of new technologies in concert with major players, in supporting the wider and extensive network of more local innovation initiatives for capability development in the tail of SMEs, and as an intelligence source and advocate for the region internationally and with policymakers. It should be clearly ‘industry led’ rather than ‘academic led’ in this activity.