Matt Hancock, the Minister of State for Digital and Culture Policy, has applauded the University of Southampton’s Future Worlds startup incubator for its presence at the forefront of UK startup technologies at the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The Minister highlighted the incubator as one of the UK’s leading lights at the international trade show and took a hands-on approach in a special visit to Future Worlds’ stand, animating a live character in a University-designed motion capture suit.

Future Worlds was the only UK university exhibitor at CES for a second year running as it showcased over 20 startups and spinouts that have developed over the past year in its unique entrepreneurial ecosystem. Since its launch within the Faculty of Physical Science and Engineering in 2015, Future Worlds has been helping University innovators on every step of their journey through mentoring, events and its web platform.

Mr Hancock said: “"The British Tech industry was well represented at CES 2017, and showed the world just some of the amazing things that can happen when we combine British creativity with British tech know-how. It was fantastic to see Future Worlds there for the second year running, they are a great example of how UK Universities can nurture a tech startup culture and showcase innovative technologies to a global audience.â€?

Mr Hancock was promoting British tech businesses at CES and visited the Future Worlds stand at Eureka Park in Las Vegas. He was transformed into a soldier during a live demonstration of the SharkStream motion capture system and experienced 3D audio through the Sound Virtualiser soundbar, a technology he commented as being “incredibleâ€?. Many of these technologies, and Future Worlds itself have been supported by government funding through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Impact Acceleration Account.

Future Worlds Director, Dr Reuben Wilcock, added: “Growing a thriving startup culture is the best way to help leading innovators change the world with their ideas and Future Worlds is making this happen. We have supported over 60 University entrepreneurs in our first year, who have raised more than £2 million in investment between them.â€?

Throughout CES 2017, Dr Wilcock has written an engaging blog covering the action-packed four days, with the Future Worlds team uploading coverage daily to the platform’s YouTube channel.

All of the startups featured at CES are profiled at www.futureworlds.com/section/discover.

Students at the University of Southampton already have an excellent record for their success in the jobs market, and with over 75 leading companies and organisations attending the 2017 Engineering and Technology Careers Fair, this looks set to continue.

This year's event takes place on Tuesday 14 February and welcomes for the first time companies such as Argos, Capgemini, Dyson, Ford, Meggitt, Toshiba, and Viagogo. They join regular attenders from global industry, such as Bloomberg, ARM, BAE Systems, CGI, IBM, Leonardo, JP Morgan, and PwC. The Fair is open to all students in the University and is one of the biggest Fairs on campus. This is the tenth Fair in the series and it continues to provide a great opportunity for leading tech companies to meet some of the UK's best students.

With 25 per cent of the companies attending for the first time and more companies than ever wanting to take part, there is no shortage of choice for students who are aiming to work in some of the UK’s leading and most innovative companies. The companies attending will be offering graduate jobs, summer internships and industrial placements, and aiming to build awareness of their opportunities with students who may not be entering the jobs market until 2019 or beyond. ‘This is a great opportunity for students to get a really wide-ranging view of the engineering and technology industry,’ said Joyce Lewis, Careers Fair Director, ‘as well as to find out about specific careers and opportunities in many different sectors.'

Sectors strongly represented this year include digital technology, finance, security, consultancy and innovative technology, and silicon systems. Innovative start-ups and specialized companies will also be represented, through the University's Science Park at Chilworth, and the Future Worlds incubator. The Fair's Innovation Zone highlights some of the leading technology being produced by companies based at Chilworth, who will be looking for the brightest students to join their high-tech ventures.

‘We very much welcome the high quality of companies coming to Southampton to employ our students', said Professor Bashir Al-Hashimi, Dean of Physical Sciences and Engineering. 'They are taking part in the Fair because they are aware of the quality of our students and their ability to innovate and support the development of future technologies. There are very exciting careers to be built in these industries and we value our strong links with companies and the excellent relationships built up over time. Many of the stands will include Southampton alumni, demonstrating the contribution that our students and graduates are making to the UK’s industrial and business success.’

Students attending the Fair can expect strong interest from leading employers across the technology industries and from companies that are seeking excellent graduates with high-level competence in technology and engineering, as well as business and the sciences.

‘The environment we have created here. based on our strong research reputation, continues to ensure that companies want to promote their opportunities to our students,' said Professor Al-Hashimi. 'For our part we do our best to increase our students’ awareness of career opportunities, right from their very first week at the University. We want to prepare them to find the job they want, and raise their aspirations of future achievement.’

For further information about the Fair, or about the FPSE Careers Hub activity, contact Joyce Lewis; tel.+44(0)23 8059 5453.