News

The Industrial Strategy Commission was formally launched on 6 March at a packed event at the Royal Society on London.

Professor Richard Jones, a Fellow of the Royal Society and member of the Industrial Strategy Commission, welcomed everyone to the launch before handing over to Dame Kate Barker, Chairman of the Commission. Dame Kate outlined the aims and of the Commission and encouraged the audience to submit evidence to the Commission.

Three distinguished guest speakers Carolyn Fairbairn, Director General of the CBI, Juergen Maier, Chief Executive of Siemens UK, and Professor Philip Nelson, Chief Executive of the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council and Chair of Research Councils UK then spoke to share their expert perspectives on what a new industrial strategy should entail.

Professor Diane Coyle, member of the Commission, then chaired a Q&A session and the panel responded to a wide range of questions and comments from the audience. Professor Luke Georghiou, Vice-President for Research and Innovation at the University of Manchester closed the event before a drinks reception was held.

The capacity audience included members of Parliament, civil servants, national journalists, university researchers, representatives from leading businesses, research institutes and thinktanks, and members of the public.

Follow @IndStrategyComm on Twitter to see tweets, photos and videos from the launch event.

The launch of the Commission was covered by The Times and a comment piece by Kate Barker was published in the Financial Times.