Latest News | 6 May 2021
How Derby is continuing to follow Einstein’s words of wisdom
Here, in his latest monthly column reflecting on the news over the past month, our Press and PR Executive Robin Johnson, looks at the headlines.
It was the esteemed physicist Albert Einstein who once famously said: “Creativity is contagious. Pass it on.”
Of course, in these troubling times, we are justifiably wary of passing anything on.
But what the coronavirus pandemic has done is make us all think more creatively as we adapt to an ever-changing world.
There have been some brilliant examples over the past 12 months or so of new and existing businesses thinking outside the box (or in a box when it comes to Marketing Derby Bondholders such as Colleague Box, Calm in a Box and Divine Box – all founded during the pandemic).
Creativity has been at the heart of many of those successes. It is not only inspiring it is also, as Mr Einstein points out, contagious.
The thing is, Derby has been ‘passing it on’ for generations – 300 years to be precise – and later this month, we will be able to explore that story when the new Museum of Making finally opens its doors.
In April, Derby Museums, announced that the long-awaited new venue, which will showcase the city’s manufacturing prowess in the past, present and future, would open its doors to the public on 21 May. (Read the full story here.)
I, for one, cannot wait. Over these past few months, I’ve been involved in the 300 Years of Making group, which has brought together representatives from various businesses and organisations, to set out a programme of events related to the Museum of Making’s launch.
During these meetings, we’ve been shown tantalising glimpses of the progress being made to create the Museum of Making. From what I have seen so far, the finished article should blow our socks off!
There is much evidence around the city to suggest that creativity is alive and well today.
Take the Mainframe Awards, which took place in April. These annual awards celebrate our best creative and digital firms.
It was my privilege to be the judge for the Unsung Hero category – and it really was a delight to read through stories of firms and individuals going that extra mile during the crisis. You can read about all the winners here.
Of course, creativity is not just restricted to the creative industries – it can be found in almost every sector.
Take Marketing Derby, for example. We too have had to employ creativity in order to continue to support and stay connected with our Bondholders.
We took our events and print publications online, while upping our news output to help keep everyone informed.
Key to this has been the use of technology. I’ll admit it, before the pandemic, I was a bit of a technophobe.
I was convinced technology hated me. I only had to touch a laptop or mobile phone to make it go into a microchip-based meltdown.
But back in March last year, circumstances meant we were all forced to become computer whizz kids literally overnight – and now look at us.
Talking of computer whizz kids, in April, it was announced that around 100 highly skilled IT professionals were set to descend on Derby after Bam Boom Cloud announced it had chosen the city centre for its global headquarters. (Read the full story here.)
This was a real coup for Derby – made possible thanks to a close collaboration between Derby City Council, Marketing Derby and Staton Young.
Another major boost to the city centre’s footfall that came in April was the granting of planning permission for more student apartments in Agard Street. (Read the full story here.)
The student community is vital to creating a sense of life and vibrancy to the city centre, so this was great to see.
For me, a firm that embodies creativity and vision is White Peak Distillery. How many people would have the foresight to create a whisky distillery right here in Derbyshire?
Its first whisky will be ready this autumn – and ahead of that, I was delighted to write about the success of its crowdfunding campaign, which raised over double its original target. (Read the full story here.)
Going forward, a major focus for the world now is creating a greener planet, with the pandemic perhaps giving us all a greater appreciation for what we have – and the need to look after it a bit better.
One of the pioneers when it comes to developing green technology is Rolls-Royce, which is continuously working to create more environmentally-friendly aero engines right here in Derby.
In April, the engineering giant announced it had started work on the first UltraFan module at its dedicated DemoWorks facility at its civil aerospace site, in Sinfin. (Read the full story here.)
Billed as the world’s largest engine in Derby, the firm said that the UltraFan will “help redefine sustainable air travel for decades to come”.
Innovate
Spring 2021
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With its knowledge and expertise in green technology, Derby, as a city, has a key role to play – and it is no accident that Marketing Derby’s latest edition of Innovate magazine has a focus on the green agenda.
It contains features on the city’s ambitions to become a centre of excellence for future fuels, visions to make more of our waterways and efforts to transform its infrastructure with sustainable and new ideas. You can read for yourself here.
You will see that the vision to create a better future for Derby is bold and ambitious. Can we do it? To quote another brilliant brain, the poet and author Sylvia Plath, ‘The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt’.
Anyway, that’s enough from me. Have a safe and productive May and I look forward to catching up again next month.
