Overview
The Henry Royce Institute is pleased to sponsor Innov8rs Manchester, a two-day conference bringing together corporate innovation leaders, intrapreneurs, venture builders and R&D professionals to explore how innovation ambitions can be translated into measurable business outcomes.
Taking place in Manchester on 15–16 September 2026, the event will provide a peer-led environment for innovation professionals to share practical approaches, benchmark with others facing similar challenges, and explore the systems, partnerships and investment decisions needed to move ideas from pilots and prototypes into scalable impact.
Royce’s sponsorship reflects the Institute’s commitment to strengthening connections between advanced materials research, industrial innovation and commercial translation. As part of the programme, Royce will contribute to the session “From Lab to Market: Translating Materials Innovation into Business Growth”, which will explore what it takes to turn advanced materials research into commercial ventures, industrial partnerships and investable businesses.
Event details
Event: Innov8rs Manchester
Date: 15–16 September 2026
Location: Manchester
Format: In-person conference
Organiser: Innov8rs
Across two days, delegates will take part in talks, peer-led discussions, workshops, networking sessions and field trips exploring current and emerging approaches to corporate innovation. Themes include innovation portfolio management, venture building, leadership support, AI-enabled innovation, measuring innovation impact, and creating the conditions for ideas to scale inside complex organisations.
Royce’s contribution will help connect these wider innovation themes to the advanced materials landscape, highlighting the role of research infrastructure, cross-sector partnerships and translational support in helping materials innovation progress from laboratory discovery to business growth.
Who should attend
This event is designed for professionals working in corporate innovation and related roles, including:
Chief Innovation Officers, Heads of Innovation, innovation directors and programme leads; corporate venturing, strategy and business development professionals; R&D and product development teams; intrapreneurs and venture builders; leaders working across labs, incubators, accelerators and innovation portfolios; and organisations seeking to strengthen how innovation activity is governed, measured and scaled.
It will be particularly relevant for those interested in translating emerging technologies, including advanced materials, into commercial products, services, partnerships and long-term business value.
Event Programme
| Time | Programme |
|---|---|
| Tuesday 15 September 2026 | |
| 09:00 – 10:30 | Opening / Peer Pods Participants connect with peers and discuss relevant innovation trends and challenges. |
| 10:30 – 12:30 | Trending Topic Talks
|
| 12:30 – 14:00 | Networking lunch |
| 14:00 – 16:00 | Innovator Insights
|
| 16:30 – 18:00 | Enlightening Exchanges
|
| 18:00 – 20:00 | Networking drinks |
| Wednesday 16 September 2026 | |
| 08:00 – 09:00 | Peer Pods Breakfast discussions with peers in similar roles or sectors. |
| 09:00 – 10:00 | Enlightening Exchanges
|
| 10:30 – 11:30 | Challenge Calls Participants share current innovation challenges and receive peer feedback and advice. |
| 11:30 – 13:00 | Workshops
|
| 13:00 – 14:00 | Networking lunch |
| 15:30 – 16:30 | Peer Pods Small-group reflection on conference learning, next steps and actions. |
| 16:30 – 18:30 | Field Trips Visits to innovation hubs and places across the Manchester ecosystem. |
September 16 2026
