The Duke of York visited Oxford and Swindon on 11th December, 2014 with a programme focused on Science, Technology, and Education.
HRH started the day with a visit to UTC Swindon. UTC Swindon is a university technical college that is sponsored by a number of Partners including Oxford Brooks University and Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells. The college focuses on Engineering and provides education to a wide catchment area in and around Swindon.
The Duke met with students working on electronics, engineering, and science projects for companies such as National Rail and Thames Water. HRH unveiled a Plaque to mark his visit and said “I hope that you make the most of the facilities and challenges put in front of you.”
The Duke then moved onto the Oxford Science Park where HRH visited OrganOx.
OrganOx Limited is a medical device development company that was founded in April 2008 as a spin-out from the University of Oxford. The Duke met with key representatives from OrganOx and was briefed on the innovative technology which allows Normothermic Transplantation of Livers. HRH met with post-doctoral students from the University of Oxford to discuss their summer projects at OrganOx before watching a live demonstration of the OrganOx Metra liver transplant technology.
The Duke then attended a meeting with ISIS Innovation. ISIS Innovation was established by the University of Oxford in 1988 as its wholly owned technology transfer company. Isis Innovation focuses on three main sectors:
- Helping the University of Oxford researchers to commercialise their research
- Managing consulting opportunities
- Providing consulting advice in technology transfer to clients across public and private businesses around the world.
During the visit HRH met with key representatives from ISIS Innovation and continued discussions on their latest activities and their wider role within the Oxford Tech cluster.