The AIP team successfully hosted its inaugural Poster Showcase event titled ‘The UK’s Agri Food Cluster’ on Thursday, September 25th, at Norwich Research Park.
The event featured presentations from prominent multinational corporations that play a crucial role in the global agriculture and life sciences sectors. Their discussions centred on innovative collaborative projects, impactful corporate initiatives, and sustainability efforts within the industry. AIP Science Collaboration Manager, introduced the speakers, including:
- Richard Corden, Head of Solutions and Services, Agricultural Solutions, BASF
- Dr Phil Taylor, Director of Community Ecosystem Development, Bayer
- Dr Mathias Müller, Senior Director, Corteva Catalyst
- Dr Kendra Gittus, Global Open Innovation Lead at Syngenta Crop Protection R&D
The presentations were rounded off by an engaging Q&A session, allowing attendees to gain further insight into the topics discussed.
In the second part of the event, guests and attendees showcased their research through posters, facilitating an enthusiastic environment for networking and discussions about the latest scientific breakthroughs and future collaboration opportunities between researchers, industry leaders, and investors.
Roz Bird, CEO at AIP, said, “I was delighted to welcome four of the major multinationals, working in the agrifood sector, to take part in strategic discussions with our campus Directors, over lunch, where we discussed the opportunity to start working more closely together in an open innovation system.
It was then my absolutely pleasure to support my colleagues, for the afternoon, to host the presentations, discussions and networking centred around over 40 scientific posters. It was a really inspiring format. We have been asked to run this again next year, at the same time of year, during World Agritech Week, to enable our international guests to make a return visit. We will be very happy to do this and hope the event becomes an annual fixture in people’s diaries.”
Guests reflected on the day and on the importance of innovation and collaboration in Agri Food and shared their feedback:
Phil Taylor, Director of Community Ecosystem Development at Bayer, commented on the event, saying, “Excellent event! Many thanks to the Norwich Research Park team for all their efforts in organising this event! Thoroughly enjoyed all the conversations with a very impressive group of innovators.”
Mathias Müller, Senior Director, Corteva Catalyst, echoed the feedback from attendees with “A very nice event organised by the Norwich Research Park! I thoroughly enjoyed talking to all the young entrepreneurs and debating the early-stage innovations that form the basis of this dynamic group. This is a true open innovation event that helps foster awareness and discussion among the participants in the Agri Tech innovation ecosystem.”
Salvo Di Maggio, Business Development Manager at KPMG, posted “Amazing event here at the Norwich Research Park representing KPMG UK for the UK’s Agri Food Cluster’ poster showcase event. Thanks, Roz Bird, for inviting us to witness how the ecosystem is thriving with so many interesting and promising realities.”
Dr Sasha Eremina, Entrepreneur-in-Residence, represented BioPotatoes, focusing on how their innovative strategy creates late blight- and virus-resistant potatoes for commercial and home growers. She wrote “Thank you to the guest speakers from Corteva Agriscience, BASF Agricultural Solutions, Bayer and Syngenta for joining us in Norwich for this exciting event, as well as Anglia Innovation Partnership LLP for giving us a chance to “Discover, Connect, Collaborate.”
The gathering successfully brought together scientists, researchers, entrepreneurs, high-growth businesses and multinationals demonstrating the convening power of Norwich Research Park at the heart of the UK’s AgriFood Cluster.
To view the full gallery of images from the event, please visit our Event Gallery page.
To express your interest in attending this poster event in 2026 or to attend the next Enterprise Tuesday showcase event email andrea.smith@nrp.dev.assemblystudios.co.uk
Watch our video for highlights of the event:
