{"id":827,"date":"2021-03-12T08:42:47","date_gmt":"2021-03-12T08:42:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mub.eps.manchester.ac.uk\/graphene\/?p=827"},"modified":"2021-03-12T08:42:47","modified_gmt":"2021-03-12T08:42:47","slug":"graphenemanchester-how-we-adapted-to-lockdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sites.se.manchester.ac.uk\/graphene\/2021\/03\/12\/graphenemanchester-how-we-adapted-to-lockdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Graphene@Manchester: how we adapted to lockdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Wednesday 17 March marks a year since The University of Manchester was closed for all but essential operations as a response to the gathering COVID-19 crisis. Graphene@Manchester CEO James Baker<\/strong> and Application Manager Paul Wiper<\/strong> reflect on a period of unprecedented change and adaptation at the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC).<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

James, Paul, do you remember where you were or what you were doing when you heard the University was going into lockdown?<\/strong><\/p>\n

James: I remember I was in the GEIC and whilst we \u201csaw the lockdown coming\u201d, it was still a surprise and the priority was enacting the GEIC\u2019s Business Continuity Plan, with staff returning home to work and ensuring the safe shutdown of the building and equipment. We didn\u2019t know for how long we would be away, so it was definitely a case of \u2018unknown unknowns\u2019!<\/p>\n

Paul: I had only just returned to the office after being in quarantine for 14 days, having returned from northern Italy. I was pleased to get back to work only to be told we were being shut down, which was frustrating but obviously necessary in hindsight.<\/p>\n

James, as CEO of Graphene@Manchester, there must have been so many things going on in your head\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

James: In addition to staff safety and wellbeing, a real concern was that progress towards graphene commercialisation would come to a complete halt. Primarily because our laboratories were closed, but also, working from home it would be difficult to engage with both our existing partners and our potential future partners.<\/p>\n

The GEIC model is very much built on collaboration and engagement between academics, GEIC staff and industry partners to build supply chains. I was very pleasantly surprised, however, that we quickly adapted to the new ways of working on Teams, Zoom and online working, and actually, through a series of engagements with partners via webinars, via one-to-ones and discussion forums, it was almost the opposite of what we feared: we actually increased the pace of collaboration and engagement during that initial period.<\/p>\n

Paul, you run the CVD [chemical vapour deposition] lab in the GEIC and you also oversee the ERDF Bridging the Gap programme for SMEs. What were your specific concerns in either or both of those areas?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Paul: I shared the concern with James about commercialisation slowing but what was different is that compared to the GEIC\u2019s Tier 1 partners, we work with much smaller companies who we knew would be less able to take the hit from lockdown. As the months went on, we were worried about the longevity of some of our beneficiaries from ERDF Bridging the Gap.<\/p>\n

\"Dr
Dr Beenish Siddique, whose start-up AEH Innovative Hydrogel benefited from the EDRF Bridging the Gap programme. AEH is now a Tier 2 partner at the GEIC.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We\u2019d built up a good working relationship with our customers so there was a concern whether they would still be in business, if there would be redundancies, and secondary to that was our working relationship with them relating to projects – obviously that was all delayed.<\/p>\n

And for the laboratory side, we house some unique deposition equipment, which was planned to be commissioned in Q1 and Q2 of 2020 and was all pushed back.<\/p>\n

Over the coming months, we maintained good dialogue with our customers and took on board new partners and where possible tried to work with them on innovation and new ideas.<\/p>\n

For anyone who doesn\u2019t know, can you explain what Bridging the Gap is and how it works?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Paul: Bridging the Gap is a programme funded by ERDF [European Regional Development Fund] which essentially aims to work with start-ups and SMEs within the Greater Manchester area to explore and integrate graphene and 2D materials into their products or processes through collaborative R&D projects. The programme has supported more than 100 businesses and we are pleased that we’ve been able to extend it until 2022.<\/p>\n

What we\u2019ve also done is to develop links to other investment programmes, such as The Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub<\/a> with the Henry Royce Institute, and the Business Growth Hub<\/a>, which provides a range of business support. We offer an integrated package of support that provides a real competitive advantage and opportunity to SMEs and businesses in Greater Manchester.<\/p>\n

What have been the challenges around collaboration with our partners and any notable successes<\/strong> during this time?<\/strong><\/p>\n

James: One of the big successes that has come out of the pandemic has been our whole business model of engagement. Our Tier 1\/Tier 2 agreements and Bridging the Gap provided a framework that enabled flexibility and agility in working with partners.<\/p>\n

That included the use of space, access to kit and delivery of projects. So with that framework in place we were able to adapt under the circumstances to do things in different ways. There was more emphasis initially away from lab work, keeping our partners \u2013 both existing and new ones – engaged and interested, so when the labs reopened, we hit the ground running.<\/p>\n