Creative Pioneers Reunion

On 13 October we hosted the first Creative Pioneers Programme reunion bringing together some of the fantastically artistic, industrious and innovative individuals that NESTA has supported from the creative industries.

Take a look at the reunion pictures on our Facebook page

The Creative Pioneer Programme offered access to knowledge, expertise, training, support and business funding to individuals who were in the early stages of their careers (up to 5 years out of graduation). The Programme's aim was to nurture imaginative thinkers who were becoming tomorrow's (now today's) role models; individuals who were designing new products and services, in new ways for new markets and were changing the way the creative industries developed in the UK.

As well as the chance to mingle and catch-up with each other's work over the past five years, the event also featured presentations by some of the programme's most successful participants:

Mark Champkins

Mark studied Manufacturing and Management (MET) at Cambridge University, graduating in 2000. Following his degree, he attended the Royal College of Art where he studied Product Design. It was while at the RCA that he developed a range of "Self Heating Crockery" - a range of plates, cups and bowls that could instantaneously heat to sixty degrees at the touch of a button. Mark won British Inventor of the Year in 2002 for the crockery range and has since appeared on a number of TV programs including BBC's Dragons' Den. Mark told the Creative Pioneers Programme Reunion that he believed everyone had a product idea somewhere at the back of their mind.

Catherine Greig

Catherine founded make:good in May 2005 to work with disadvantaged communities to rebuild and improve their built environment. In the past year she has worked with London based youth organisations to deliver design and renovation projects in existing community halls and gardens. She has developed a set of den building workshops which involve young people designing and constructing both temporary and permanent spaces for play and imagination. Speaking at the event, Catherine described the difficult process of learning to delegate as her workload increased but said learning to trust other people to share the burden was a big career turning point.

Eleanor Ford

Eleanor began her career as an anthropologist and documentary filmmaker, before founding LikeCube Ltd in 2006. Based on her frustration at the lack of sources for personalised recommendations for travellers, Eleanor won support and initial finance from NESTA through the Creative Pioneer Programme and went on to build an award-winning team and cutting-edge technology. LikeCube recommendations have been described as "faultless", "spooky" and "bang on the money" and the company was acquired by Time Out Group in July 2011. Speaking at the reunion Eleanor talked about the chaotic process involved in the formulation and development of an idea and told her fellow pioneers that innovation was anchored in great leadership.

Anna Meredith

Anna is a composer and performer of electronic and acoustic music. Her material has been performed around the world by many leading orchestras and ensembles. She has been composer in residence with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and is currently the PRS/RPS Composer in the House with Sinfonia ViVA. At the reunion, Anna told the group of Creative Pioneers that applying for the programme had been a "total eye-opener" for her, and forced her to assess her own strengths and weaknesses.

Zoe Stanton

Zoë is the co-founder of uscreates, a social and behavioural change agency with a mission to develop effective ways to respond to social challenges. Previous projects include working with NHS East Midlands to find ways to reduce the inappropriate use of A&E services, and looking at ways to increase early detection of cancer symptoms among older people. At the Creative Pioneers Programme reunion, Zoë shared some of her worst moments of the last five years explaining what she'd learnt from each of them. She told the reunion to constantly evaluate each piece of work they undertake to make sure it fits in with the bigger picture of what they're trying to achieve.