Welcome to Open Labs

Photographs courtesy of Ryan McGuinness

Open Labs helps local creative technology companies think globally

Open Labs supports local creative technology companies to develop new products and services that capitalise upon global opportunities. To take advantage of this support we'd like to invite you to join us and become a Member of Open Labs where you and your business can enjoy the benefits below:

Master Classes

Our most recent Master Classes were Financial Expertise to Help your Business Grow with Ray Haigh from RJH Associates and One Year Plan ..... with a difference with Marie Burns from The Upside Company.

Innovation Challenges

Previous challenges have included Liverpool's first NHS Hack Day in partnership with Open Health Care UK. The event ran over the weekend of 22/23 September at Liverpool's Art and Design Academy. The weekend brought together software developers, doctors, and health care leaders to create disruptive solutions to problems in the health space.

Speakers

Open Labs recently brought OggCamp 12 to LJMU. This annual event is an open source, open culture event organized by a community of volunteers including Liverpool’s podcaster; Dan Lynch,

"This year proved to be quite an event. We had 200+ geeks hacking everything from circuit boards to recycled T-Shirts, with workshops in digital embroidery techniques, making your own 8bit computer & 3D printing master classes as well as flying musical kites. With ample opportunity to chat and exchange ideas, events don't get any better."
The range of speakers this year included Simon Phipps (formally of Sun Microsystems); Alan O’Donohoe whose Hack To The Future talk was aimed at inspiring young people to get interested in computer science and related fields; Ross Gardler (former head of OSS Watch; a UK-based Open Source advisory service), and Stephen Fry (yes! that Stephen Fry). Well, unfortunately Mr Fry could not be there in person but he sent a video which has now received more than 12000 hits on YouTube.

Open Labs, were instrumental in bringing an additional element to OggCamp12 referred to as Open Hardware Jam. This included a series of workshops where delegates could roll up their sleeves and get building, creating and mocking up, all under the guidance of the workshop leaders who either use open hardware or open software and, in some cases, both. We even had a Wiki House erected outside the ADA café by two former LJMU graduates (Steven & Jonathan) from PointFive.

Needless to say a great time was had by all. Check out Flickr.

Co-working

Open Labs provides co-working space for local creative technology companies at Jelly Liverpool (every first and third Thursday @ Leaf, Bold Street) and for LJMU's research and post Grad community at Open Hub.