CHEMUK is one of the UK’s largest gatherings for the chemical sciences industry—bringing together over 7,000 attendees from across the supply chain, including instrument providers, analytical services, and professional services, as well as policymakers and investors. But beyond this, there’s a growing focus on early-stage innovation, and this year the Royal Society of Chemistry helped shine a spotlight on the start-ups and entrepreneurs driving deep tech chemistry forward.
To do this, we hosted a mini-conference and brought a Change Makers stand to the Innovation Zone. Our goal? To raise the visibility of deep tech chemistry and the challenges and breakthroughs shaping its future. From venture survival to the investment landscape, we covered the journey of early-stage companies through a series of case study presentations and a fireside chat, providing insights from our founders, mentors, and investors.
With thanks to our line-up of speakers for taking part in these sessions:
The event also gave us the chance to highlight our recent work—sharing the Unlocking Innovation report, updating on the ChemLabs initiative, and educating on how we provide start-ups with the tools to navigate scale-up and commercialization. The reception was overwhelmingly positive, both online and on the ground, and we were delighted by the feedback.
"Congrats Royal Society of Chemistry on this refreshed offering. In my view, exactly what's needed and I am proud to be involved as a mentor. Chemistry is the foundation for the big challenges facing humanity and we need to support commercialise-able innovation."
Venture Mentor
"Shame it was so short, felt like it flew by to me. I thought you did an excellent job of weaving the individual questions into a flowing story. I’ve seen a few panel discussions that either one speaker dominates or the questions all feel unrelated but I thought you made it into a nice integrated session."
Speaker
We closed the day with a networking reception that brought together Change Makers, industry leaders, RSC members, and prize winners to celebrate innovation and community in the chemical sciences.
We were delighted by the response to this year’s programme, and it was great to catch up with so many changemakers at the event. We invite anyone in attendance to provide their feedback, so we can deliver even greater impact at future events.