Partner Article

Twenty-five years on and still going strong - RTC North celebrates milestone

British adventurer Jo Gambi, the first woman to conquer the ‘Seven Summits’ and ski to both poles, will lead the celebrations at RTC North’s 25th anniversary event next week.

The celebrations on Wednesday November 19 will see North East cutting-edge innovation and the next generation of business talent take centre stage to mark the anniversary of one of the pillars of regional business support.

RTC North is the only one of 12 regional technology centres launched nationwide by the Conservative Government in 1989 still in existence.

Now a well established regional success story, the anniversary dinner will celebrate its support of hundreds of companies in getting products to market, boosting business growth and accessing new opportunities both in the UK and overseas.

Adventurer Jo Gambi will deliver the keynote speech to scores of business leaders and young scientists from local schools who will be among the audience at the celebration dinner and awards at NewcastleGateshead Marriott Hotel to mark quarter of a century of RTC North.

In 2005, Jo and her husband Rob Gambi became the first married couple to climb the highest mountains on each of the world’s seven continents and ski to both poles – in doing so Jo also became the first woman to achieve this feat.

Gordon Ollivere MBE, CEO of RTC North who has been at the helm of the organisation since it opened, said: “RTC North has been in the privileged position of working with some of the most talented individuals and organisations in the North East over the past 25 years.

“The depth of talent we have in the region has seen it adapt to profound changes in its industrial base to embrace new opportunities and become a real force in sectors such as IT and tech, oil and gas and advanced manufacturing.”

RTC North will support its chosen charity Welbodi Partnership as part of their anniversary dinner. The UK charity works to tackle child mortality in Sierra Leone, where one in seven children die before their fifth birthday.

RTC North is proud to have supported Welbodi since its inception five years ago. During that time it has championed and equipped the Ola During hospital which is the country’s only children’s hospital.

Welbodi’s task is made doubly difficult by the recent Ebola outbreak which is impacting the population, volunteers and local workers alike. RTC North is determined to help the charity continue its magnificent work in transforming health care in Sierra Leone and changing the futures of thousands of children every year.

The celebration dinner will also feature four awards to business for outstanding contribution to innovation and an accolade for lifelong contribution to innovation.

Teesside and Northumbria Universities, the Academic Health Science Network North East and Cumbria, the North East Local Enterprise Partnership and Accenture are sponsoring the awards.

RTC North manages large public sector contracts as well as delivering discrete consultancy projects to industry, research institutes and the higher education sector.

Specialising in the areas of technology, innovation and business growth, RTC North is sponsored by several world-class companies and research institutes, is accredited by the EU and has an unrivalled network of European contacts.

For further details about the event or to book a table, please contact Rebecca Davis at RTC North on 0191 516 4400 or email: Rebecca.davis@rtcnorth.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Gordon Arnott .