GETM4 sandpit meeting in Newcastle
Unleashing innovation and collaboration
Northumbria University Newcastle hosted the GETM4 sandpit from 8 to 12 July 2024. Over five days, secondees moved between plenary sessions, workshops and fieldwork, with a cultural programme threaded through the week.
Setting the stage
Prof Alison Pearce opened the week on inclusivity and the opportunities open to the consortium's researchers. Prof Graham Wynn, Northumbria's Pro-Vice Chancellor for Education, gave the keynote, connecting student talent management to the university's education strategy and describing the institution's long record of supporting entrepreneurial students — from the Business Clinic to the Business Incubator, with support continuing for up to five years after graduation.
Afternoon sessions covered progress across the streams: higher education innovation and creative confidence, the data repository and publication strategy, and the dissemination, exploitation and communication plan.
Workshops and fieldwork
Day two focused on researcher development and what an inclusive academic environment requires in practice. Sessions included deliverable development, a workshop on writing digital innovation ethics case studies, and a Design Futures activity on the future of higher education. The afternoon turned to entrepreneurs working inside academia, with focus groups on workplace wellbeing and innovative potential.
Day three moved to Newcastle Racecourse for the Innovation Festival Daily Dash — a design sprint led by David Parks of The Skill Mill, built around the United Nations' World Clean Up Day.
Day four was given to data collection and planning: focus groups on researcher development, interviews with entrepreneurs and academics, and a Project Steering Committee review of progress.
Social capital
The final day was spent building social capital and seeing something of the region — Lindisfarne and Bamburgh Castle with Lundgren Tours, a walking tour company founded by a Northumbria Business School graduate, then Barter Books in Alnwick. A survey on respectful translation practices ran alongside, feeding into the consortium's communication strategy.
