Confidence among the South West’s small businesses has plunged to the lowest level since the country emerged from Covid lockdowns, according to a new survey. The latest quarterly confidence report from the FSB (Federation of Small Businesses) reveals that fears of inflation, falling consumer demand and the general cost of doing business left optimism...
Bath-based broadband provider Truespeed has extended its price freeze and introduced a new ‘basic’ package to support financially vulnerable customers in a move it says will provide some respite from the cost of living crisis. The firm, which is investing heavily to expand its network across the West of England, announced the price standstill last...
A series of new bootcamps is being introduced by Bath Spa University to help close the biggest skills gaps in the region. The five short courses in areas such as environmental data science and digital skills within the education sector follow an earlier series staged by the university from September 2021 onwards. More than...
The University of Bath and Bath Spa University have teamed up on a world-first research project to find out why live theatre can trigger strong emotions in an audience. The pioneering analysis will monitor theatre goers at Bristol Old Vic to reveal the hidden responses their bodies have to the drama unfolding on stage. ...
The University of Bath has strengthened its research and educational ties with CERN, the world-leading European Laboratory for Particle Physics, in a move that will open up new opportunities for its students. The new collaboration agreement builds on the university’s existing research partnership with Switzerland-based CERN’s Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment, one of its...
Accountancy giant EY is to open a business research innovation technology and engineering (BRiTE) hub in the South West to help boost the region’s fast-growing FinTech sector. The hub aims to ramp up capabilities in financial services design, data analytics and engineering and create practical and tangible solutions to some of the big challenges...
FinTech West, the advisory body for the region’s burgeoning financial technology industry, has appointed two new members to its advisory board in a move to help mobilise more firms in the sector in the South West. The appointments of PwC director Katharine Adlard and NatWest senior relationship manager Louis Spencer, pictured, will enable FinTech West to...
Small firms or freelancers working on projects that use technology in innovative and creative ways are being encouraged to apply for funding of up to £5,000 under a new scheme. Launched by The Studio at Palace Yard Mews, Bath Spa University’s city-centre research and innovation hub, The Studio Innovation Fund aims to support freelancers,...
The University of Bath is partnering with a Norwegian health tech company to improve its ground-breaking sensor technology used by people with diabetes. Lifecare AS, which has just opened a UK head office in Bath, has developed the smallest glucose sensor in the world for continuous monitoring. The size of a grain of rice,...
The University of Bath’s car-of-the-future research centre is driving ahead with a pioneering project that could help put zero-emission hydrogen-powered aircraft into commercial use. The Institute of Advanced Automotive Propulsion Systems (IAAPS) has teamed up with aircraft parts manufacturer GKN Aerospace to develop hydrogen technology aimed at decarbonising the aviation industry. They will work together on GKN Aerospace’s...
