• All the information you share with the Innovation Team will be confidential
• Only share what you feel comfortable with on Graduation Day
• Participants will be asked to sign non-disclosure agreements

Participants will develop skills in smart technologies, and will have the insight on how to use these technologies to solve the challenges or address the opportunities identified within their business. Digital Catapult will support the applicants on creating a roadmap to put this plan into action.

Applicants will become Alumni of Digital Catapult and will be signposted to other relevant programmes and sources of useful information.

You will also have the chance to be involved in communications and publicity around the programme, resulting in increased exposure for your business.

• Demonstrations and detailed overviews of photonic technologies for industry and specific use cases
• Use of the Immersive Lab at Ormeau Baths
• Collaborative work space at Ormeau Baths for workshops
• Off-site visits may be scheduled to partner’s facilities, such as Queen’s University Belfast, demonstrating photonics-based prototyping and manufacturing equipment
• 1-2-1 time with dedicated technologists, covering photonics, the internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI)

No, unfortunately the terms of our funding dictate that we are unable to support travel and subsistence for participants.

The programme does not provide funding for participants, however you will receive in-kind support to the value of £8,000.

The programme has been made possible by the Smart Nano NI consortium, which has been awarded £42.4m UK Research and Innovation’s Strength in Places Fund. The total project value including leveraged funding from other sources is £63.9m.

The application information will be used by Digital Catapult in compliance with GDPR regulations. It will only be used for the purposes of the programme and its evaluation, and will be securely retained by Digital Catapult only for the duration of the programme.

No, Digital Catapult does not take equity in participating companies.

The judges will score responses to questions on our online application platform Submittable, and each question is weighted equally with a maximum score of 30 points.

During the application process we reserve the right to conduct enhanced financial or legal due diligence to ensure applicants will be able to meet all commitments.

Participation in accelerator or other start-up support programmes does not preclude you from taking part in the FutureScope Photonics Experiment: Learn.

If you have been part of any previous Digital Catapult programme you are welcome to join this one.

For other programmes your participation will be dependent on the terms of the programme itself, the capacity of your team and what you have agreed to in the terms and conditions. De minimis funding will also need to be considered when applying to join the programme.

Yes. Your company must be registered on Companies House as a UK or NI business.

Begin your application by completing the form on the FutureScope website

No, webinars and masterclasses will not be available online for this programme. Digital Catapult is exploring the potential of offering a hybrid programme in the future.

Ormeau Baths, 18 Ormeau Avenue, Belfast.

Off-site visits may also occur, such as at Queen’s University Belfast.

Applications will be judged by a team of experts from Digital Catapult. Successful applicants will be informed on the result of their applications by 31 March 2023.

If your application is successful, you will be notified by email by 31 March. An onboarding pack will also be sent to you.

23.59 on Sunday 19 March 2023.

Applications Open: 13 February 2023
Applications Close: 26 March 2023

If successful, you and a colleague will be required to attend sessions on a Wednesday afternoon for eight consecutive weeks, plus a graduation ceremony.

Week 1 – 5 April 2023
Week 2 – 12 April 2023
Week 3 – 19 April 2023
Week 4 – 26 April 2023
Week 5 – 3 May 2023
Week 6 – 10 May 2023
Week 7 – 17 May 2023
Week 8 – 24 May 2023
Week 9 – 14 June 2022

• Training in photonics, the internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies, their industrial application, use cases and market potential
• Additional six hours with global experts in photonics, IoT and data science
• Training in innovation methodologies and tools as well as business challenge and opportunity mapping
• Increase awareness and adoption of photonic technologies, particularly with regards to augmenting and digitising the quality control processes – (including automation, accuracy, traceability) – and enable greater productivity
• Add efficiencies, reduce waste and increase sustainability in business operations
• Work through a design process to create a proposal for an actionable prototype photonics solution for an internal business challenge or opportunity
• Networking and learning opportunities from peers in the same and similar fields

• Applicants must be working in Northern Ireland
• Companies must be industry facing, and have a current quality control process
• Applicants must be eligible to receive £8,000 in-kind of State Assistance
• Applicants must be a UK based registered company, or prove they are a company that has an establishment in the UK
• Applicants must have the need or desire to develop solutions enabled by photonics technology

Northern Ireland companies working in manufacturing, construction, agritech, medical devices and pharmaceuticals.

FutureScope Photonics Experiment: Learn is suitable for people in the following types of job roles (*please note that the programme requires at a minimum the attendance of two people per company at each session):

• Management team
• Innovation team/department
• Change Managers
• Quality Assurance Managers
• Quality, Manufacturing, Process and/or Operations Engineers
• IT / Integration
• Quality Technicians

Smart Nano NI is a Northern Ireland consortium which aims to develop game-changing advanced prototyping and smart manufacturing methods to deliver new technologies. The consortium shares a niche capability around nanomanufacturing and world-leading knowledge in photonics.

The consortium has been awarded £42.4m by UK Research and Innovation’s Strength in Places Fund. The total project value including leveraged funding from other sources is £63.9m. Our collaboration is aimed at driving self-sustaining local industry and economic growth through research and innovation.

Digital Catapult is delivering the programme as part of the Smart Nano NI consortium. Digital Catapult will run the accelerator alongside our technologists in photonics and nanotechnology, the industrial internet of things (IoT), and artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).

It is an accessible and practical nine-week educational workshop series for up to ten Northern Ireland companies working in either manufacturing, construction, agritech or medical devices and pharmaceuticals, covering how to use photonics technologies and data within quality control processes in industry. Participants will use their new knowledge to design actionable solutions for their own identified business challenges or opportunities.

The FutureScope Photonics NI programme from Digital Catapult will increase the level of knowledge and skills in photonics technologies within industry in Northern Ireland, enabling businesses to take advantage of the substantial market opportunities offered by photonics – particularly in quality control processes.

Photonics is the science and technology of light and underpins much of modern technology, such as smartphones, medical instruments and the internet. In terms of industrial applications, it provides, for example, powerful techniques to monitor products, processes, environments and equipment, as well as offering efficient means for processing materials and enabling optimised lighting solutions.

We only use your application information for the purposes of the programme. If information is shared outside Digital Catapult (for example, with programme partners) this will be made clear in the application form and/or programme agreement.

Yes, you’ll be able to save it during the application process, so that you can complete it in more than one session if you need to.

For some programmes this is a requirement. For others, collaborations can include international contributors, but your team must have an establishment in the UK, most of the work should be carried out in the UK, and you need to be able to commit to attending any required events or in-person activities relating to the programme. Please check the programme brief/agreement for details.

Because of the number of applications we receive, we can’t provide feedback on applications that do not progress to the interview stage.

Yes, you are welcome to apply for any suitable FutureScope programmes.

Unless the FutureScope or external programme brief or agreement states otherwise, you can still take part in FutureScope programmes, as long as the timings do not cause a conflict of interest and you are eligible to participate.

If you have been part of any previous Digital Catapult programme you are also welcome to join.

FutureScope is delivered by Digital Catapult, the UK authority on advanced digital technology.

No, Digital Catapult is not an investment firm or venture capitalist. Participants keep 100% of any investment raised as part of the programme.

There is no fee for participating in a FutureScope programme, although you would need to cover your own travel expenses for any in-person events you attend.

If not otherwise specified in the programme brief/agreement, participants will have full ownership of the IP.