It is often said that successful companies are based on technology. Whether they manufacture it, use it, promote it or just sell it, technology is what makes companies prosper. It is all pervasive and all too often hidden, so while it may be appreciated that the product, process or service is innovative and successful, the knowledge of what underpins this - the technology - can be elusive. Understanding the technology is critical in giving companies an inside edge over their competitors; understanding the benefits of the technology; understanding how it can interact in their markets and understanding how it influences and directs their own strategy.

Photonics is an important and increasingly critical technology. Whether it be in the latest entertainment system, telecommunications product or service, automotive development, office infrastructure or production process, photonics plays a vital part. An increasingly wide range of companies are finding that they require a knowledge of photonics in order to compete and to understand the relative merits of one technology over another, for example manufacturing cost, performance, product life cycle.

Industrial Membership Programme

The Institute of Photonics Industrial Membership Programme (IMP) aims to provide its members with a cost effective way of gaining an insight into photonics through integration into, and collaboration with, the Institute community.

IMP members will gain an appreciation of how photonics underpins most of today's world-beating products, processes and services and what photonics promises for the future. Organisations will find that membership of the IMP will stimulate new thinking, which will enable them to maintain growth and so retain a competitive edge.

Underlying these aims, is the desire to create a community of like minded organisations who see photonics as a critical enabling technology and who want to promote the use of photonics, in all its various forms, for the benefit of industry as a whole. The mechanisms, by which the IMP operates, combine to provide a comprehensive, yet cost effective, way of being involved with photonics at the cutting edge of research.

The IMP provides the following benefits to its members:

• Involvement with networking opportunities with the Institute and other IMP members, with all the possibilities this brings; in effect being part of the Institute's community
• Access to Institute research base and its specialist staff and students. This provides an excellent opportunity to recruit talented students who are already known to IMP members.
• Advance alert to Institute IP opportunities
• Information on the latest advances in Institute research
• Participation in Institute organised events, including conferences, technology briefings and member only events
• Being involved with future Institute training (Continuing Professional Development - CPD) programmes

These benefits will allow member companies to:

• Have contact with other like minded companies, across a wide spectrum of markets and applications, so enhancing the possibility of future collaboration
• Understand how photonics can benefit their company to develop new products, processes or services
• Understand how innovative R&D is a vital part of corporate success
• Attract and keep vital members of staff

Programme Details

Membership of the IMP will be by invitation only and will be deliberately kept to a maximum of 10 organisations. These restrictions are designed to provide an environment in which each member can be fully engaged with the programme, so maximising networking opportunities and keeping competitive factors to a minimum.

Companies will be chosen across various sectors, both nationally and internationally. Sectors from which the membership will be chosen will include:

• Life sciences
• Manufacturing
• Telecomms
• Finance
• Defence

Membership will be renewable on an annual basis; however, it is the aim of the Institute to establish a long term and mutually valuable relationship with IMP members, evolving over many years.

Features of the IMP

Institute Open Day
IMP members will be invited to the Open Day at which presentations will be given by Institute staff, in tutorial format for background topics, as well as recent/current research topics. IMP members will also be invited to give brief details about their organisation and their interest in photonics.

Networking
Networking events are a vital part of the IMP membership benefits and will be held on a regular basis. Some of these will be themed, for example concentrating on applications like biophotonics, others may concentrate on a specific class of device, for example VECSELs. Some events will be very informal, like a golf day at the University's course on the banks of Loch Lomond . Contact between IMP members will be encouraged as opportunities often arise from the linkages between skills and requirements in diverse market sectors.

Support for Research
Companies may wish to support specific research at the Institute, either alone or in collaboration with other IMP members. Some of these partnerships may leverage additional government funding and/or tax relief. IMP membership provides an excellent way of establishing contact with funding schemes to determine the most cost effective way of undertaking commercially relevant R&D.

Licensing Technology
The Institute currently undertakes commercially oriented research totalling over £2 million each year. IMP members will get an advance alert to the possibility of licensing opportunities as they arise.

Recruiting Talent
While Institute staff have no undergraduate teaching responsibilities, in a typical year about 10 PhD students undertake research at the Institute, supervised by senior Institute staff. These students can work on company sponsored research, for example via a CASE award or Engineering Doctorate Scheme. Additionally, once they have completed their PhDs, some students will be seeking careers in industry. Via IMP events, IMP members will have contact with these students and can decide whether to approach the student directly with a view to future employment with the company.

Access to Institute Research Base, Staff and Students
IMP members will have access to the Institute's research base, giving the membership a unique view of current research and activities in the Institute. At the various Network events, Institute staff and students will be available to discuss with IMP members topics of mutual interest. This facility will provide a first class opportunity to meet with experts in photonics, to exchange information and to canvass opinion on a variety of research topics.

Continuing Professional Development
As part of existing PhD training at the Institute and in the Department of Physics at Strathclyde, specialised modules exist to inform these students about some of the latest developments in photonic devices and applications. The Institute, in conjunction with the Physics Department, intends to modify the modules so that they will also form the basis of a CPD programme which can be accessed by IMP members as part of their membership. While the primary target audience of the modules will remain the PhD students, the modules will be a valuable source professional development across a wide range of industry sectors.

Conclusion
The IMP is structured to provide its members with a cost-effective method of gaining an insight into the ever increasingly important field of photonics. A field which is so diverse and wide ranging that it affects all our lives and businesses. No matter what industry sector the IMP member is involved with, an understanding of the latest advances in photonics is critical for success and growth.

Current Members

For more details, please contact Simon Andrews