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Innovation Studio

Associate Programme

Industry-engagement and our strong maker culture puts collaboration at the heart of everything we do.

Associate Programme

Welcome to the Innovation Studio's Associate Programme. We’re the creative innovation specialists.

Our Associate Programme offers membership of our Innovation Studio to businesses seeking research and development support.

Benefits of joining our Associate Programme:

  • Access to AUB's in-house Creative Technologies to test concepts and create prototypes.
  • Attend Workshops to try the latest industry technology.
  • Attend Up-skilling sessions to enhance your skills.
  • Access AUB's extensive Materials library.
  • Learn from our talented technicians and academic practitioners.
  • Undertake collaborative Research projects.
  • Use of the Innovation Studio's space for meetings, away days and projects upon request.

Get in touch with us at innovationstudio@aub.ac.uk for more information and to see if your business is eligible to join the programme.

Get in touch

Membership

Membership fees vary depending on the size of your business and whether you choose to pay for six or 12 months at a time.

Please note materials are charged separate to membership fees.

<10 employees 10-50 employees >50 employees

6 months

£599

£899

£1,499

12 months (including 15% discount)

£999

£1,499

£2,499

Studio resources

The Innovation Studio features the state-of-the-art equipment, including Virtual Reality (VR), Body scanning, 3D printing and machining, cutting and engraving, fabric and hard surface printing.

We also have an extensive and regularly updated materials library, as well as testing machines, including a climate chamber and spectrometer.

Discover more

Training sessions and workshops

Associate members have the opportunity to take part in a wide range of Up-skilling sessions and Workshops to:

  • Enhance your skills
  • Learn about specialist subjects
  • Network
  • Try the latest industry technology
  • Experiment with new ways of working

Explore the opportunities below, led by our expert practitioners and academics.

Topic areas include:

  • CAD (Fusion 360)
  • 3D Printing
  • Machining
  • Cutting & Engraving
  • Body Scanning
  • Virtual Reality
  • Painting in VR (Open Brush)
  • Sketching in VR (Gravity Sketch)
  • Virtual Environments (Twinmotion)
  • Digital Fashion Design (CLO 3D)

Topic areas include:

  • Design thinking
  • Intellectual Property
  • Financing Funding and Futures
  • Writing Bids and Grants
  • Surviving and Thriving in a Portfolio Career
  • Marketing
  • Sustainability

If you and/or your team are interested in a specific area of innovation through creative technologies, materials processes, or design thinking, please contact us at innovationstudio@aub.ac.uk and we'll be in touch to discuss how we might help.

Need a different view?

Included in your membership, we offer 'design clinics' where you can explore your projects with our diverse team of experts.

As an Associate member, you have the opportunity to connect with our students on collaborative design projects through open challenges and live briefs.

Many of our courses include within their curriculum opportunities for industry live brief projects. These are projects set by a business for students to problem-solve and produce professional outcomes to a deadline.

Previous live brief collaborations have included LUSH and students from courses across AUB, Bridge Theatre and BA (Hons) Modelmaking, Tricuro with students from a range of courses.

We offer placements and internships for students and also an industry secondment scheme for our staff to work with businesses on live projects.

Contact us at innovationstudio@aub.ac.uk for more details.

"The Innovation Studio’s collaborative approach to work has been refreshing and educational, providing access to equipment and expertise that would otherwise be inaccessible. The Innovation Research Team has provided much appreciated expertise and guidance on not only how to run helpful tests, but also wider insights on how research can fit into a wider product development process in the industry.”

LUSH, Associate Partner of the Innovation Studio

“The Innovation Studio have been a great resource for our designers to explore, ideate and validate design concepts in an impartial way. Being able to experiment with different materials and 3D printing machines has helped us understand what works for us in terms of quality and cost, which helped inform our decision on who we should partner with commercially. What we have learnt from working with the Innovation Studio Team has resulted in a completely new manufacturing supply chain at Sunseeker, supporting our capability to customise solutions and to drive more sustainable practices.”

Sunseeker, Associate Partner of the Innovation Studio

“We had no idea when relocating from London in 2017 that AUB would become such a strong local innovation partner for us. They're always on hand to support us in our product development processes and dedicated to better serving local innovation in the future.”

Studio Wood, Associate Partner of the Innovation Studio

“The support given by the Innovation Studio has been immeasurably helpful; together they’ve been able to sketch out designs, seem them digitally modelled and then realised into 3D printed prototypes. On a control level such as this it’s essential to get the ergonomics right, which is nearly impossible when working from drawings alone.”

Salmon Power Sports, Associate Partner of the Innovation Studio

“The past experience with the Innovation Studio team and now the larger studio has made me aware of the possibilities and resources the Innovation Studio can offer us as an architectural studio. We use the studio to test and prototype details of construction"

Shore Architecture, Associate Partner of the Innovation Studio

“The vast amount of software, equipment, and resources the Innovation Studio has is impressive, and the opportunity to make products is one of the key reasons why we’re here. The Innovation Studio also has a great creative network, which helps us frequently consider and evolve our own design process as well as keeping on top of technology trends.”

Element Creative Ltd., Associate Partner of the Innovation Studio

"Throughout our journey, we have received invaluable support from AUB, particularly with prototype manufacture. We have extensively utilised the SLS 3D printer as well as 5-axis CNC machine to bring our products to life."

Aetha Design, Associate Partner of the Innovation Studio

“As a small, highly iterative design business the AUB's associate program is invaluable. The staff are extremely knowledgeable, helpful and the quality of prototypes I've had made is top notch too.”

Tom's Studio, Associate Partner of the Innovation Studio

Meet our past and present Associates

Logo of brand Sunseeker

Sunseeker

As fellow makers, British luxury yacht manufacturer Sunseeker shares AUB’s vision of developing solutions through collaboration.

Lush logo

Lush

As fellow innovators, Lush shares AUB’s vision of discovering new ways to create new products and push the boundaries of design...

Logo of brand Tricuro - turquoise heart with Tricuro in text in the centre

Tricuro

Tricuro is an Associate Partner, combining innovation and technology to enhance its service offer to provide personalised care and support.

Aetha Studio Design Logo

Aetha Design Studio

As fellow designers, Aetha Design Studio shares AUB’s vision of developing solutions through innovation and challenging 'normal' approaches.

Shore Architecture Logo

Shore Architecture

As fellow designers, Shore Architecture shares AUB’s ethos of design-led, innovative ideas to explore all possible solutions.

Element Creative Ltd.

Andy, Paul and Element Creative Ltd.

Andy and Paul joined our Residency Programme to expand the prototypes and components offered by their design company, Element Creative Ltd.

Etch Logo

Etch

As fellow collaborators, Etch challenges the status quo and actively seeks to find innovative and smarter ways of working together.

Explore the Innovation Studio

Innovation Studio, photographed by Richard Bryant. Photo of an exterior wall with two reverse-L shaped windows and three semi-circle panels visible. A person walks past towards the right.

Overview

The Innovation Studio operates as a lab for creative technologies, a nucleus for start-ups and enterprises and an industry engagement hub.

Two people stand and look at a collection of lit-up transparent boxes stacked on top of one another.

Events

A series of workshops and lectures for industry professionals to develop innovation and creative capabilities.

Abstract image

Projects

Take a look at some of our recent collaborative projects with external partners and businesses

People putting post its on a window

Pre Start-Up Programme

Our Pre Start-Up Programme offers membership for creative individuals or businesses looking to develop new products or services.

Innovation Studio, photographed by Richard Bryant. Photo of an interior space, with several people sat working at tables. A rectangle-shaped railing is in the middle of the room.

Creative Technologies

The Innovation Studio features state-of-the-art equipment and digital resources, and the latest manufacturing technology.