2. Taking a new idea to market is a challenge. Our role is to fund,
support and connect innovative British businesses, through a
unique mix of people and programmes, to accelerate sustainable
economic growth.
We have a great purpose,and to achieve this we
need great people working for us.
This year we’re launching our first graduate
recruitment scheme to bring new talent to
our dynamic team.We need people to help
take our organisation to the next level as
we build on what we have already achieved,
helping many of the most innovative ideas and
businesses in the UK towards
commercial success.
If you are a determined,bright,goal-orientated
person who will graduate in 2015,or who
graduated last year,then you could be what
we are looking for.If you want to be part of
the UK’s economic future,and to be at the
forefront of change for the better,then maybe
you have what it takes to join us.
We are the UK’s
Innovation
agency
Graduate Recruitment Scheme | 2015
2
Welcome
About Innovate UK
Meet our people
Departments and roles
Support and development
How to apply
3
5
9
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3. Graduate Recruitment Scheme | 2015
The world faces major challenges – from climate change, to resource use, to
changing age demographics – which are creating global market opportunities
for entirely new solutions. The countries most likely to benefit from these
opportunities will be those that can innovate most rapidly.
But many factors hamper innovation.
Companies can struggle to find finance for
early-stage development,the returns can be
hard to predict,and the innovation‘landscape’
can be complex and confusing.
Innovate UK tackles these barriers.We work
across business,academia and government
-supporting innovative projects,reducing
risk,creating partnerships,and promoting
collaboration,knowledge exchange
and open innovation.
Since Innovate UK was established,together
with business and partners we have co-
invested around £3 billion in innovation
and helped over 5,000 companies on their
innovation journeys.
In short,we fund,support and connect
innovative British businesses,through a unique
mix of people and programmes,to accelerate
sustainable economic growth.
About Innovate UK
3
Innovate UK was originally established in
2007 as the Technology Strategy Board,and
is a public body funded by government and
sponsored by the Department for Business,
Innovation and Skills.
Since 2007 our organisation has grown rapidly
in size,reach and responsibility.We currently
employ about 230 people.
Our values:
Solution-focused
Passionate about innovation
Curious and creative
One dynamic team
Committed to helping
one another
Our organisation
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Graduate Recruitment Scheme | 2015
We have helped over 5,000 companies
with their projects; this is one.
Flexeye,founded in 2005,designs
Operational Intelligence (OI) systems
that unlock business value from
operational data.The company needed
partners and funding to enhance
its position as a global pioneer in
developing the common standards
and protocols to unlock the‘Internet
of Things’-connecting physical
infrastructures and products with a
digital infrastructure supported by
the internet.
Flexeye has succeeded in winning
funding and support from Innovate UK
for a number of collaborative projects,
helping it to maintain its position as an
innovator in one of the fastest moving
industries on the planet.
Flexeye now employs a team of 45
highly-skilled staff at its head office in
Guildford,and offices in London,Los
Angeles and Hyderabad,India.
FounderJustin Anderson said“We’re
very lucky in the support we get from
Innovate UK.It’s given us all sorts of
opportunities for R&D and helped us
build fantastic partnerships with the
likes ofJaguar,Cosworth,BT and BAE.
It’s an exhilarating time to be in our
business…I can’t wait to get to work
every day because we’re working on
some really exciting stuff and we are
leading the charge for the UK.”
Flexeye-unlocking the
internet of things
“We are very lucky in
the supportwe getfrom
Innovate UK.It’s given us all
sorts of opportunities for R&D
and helped us build fantastic
partnerships”
Justin Anderson
Flexeye
5. 5
Meet our people
Emily – Finance and Governance
“I have worked at Innovate UK for several years
now and the excitement for me has certainly never
calmed down. We have grown immensely and
at such a pace, it has been incredibly fascinating
to see the developments of the organisation
unfold around me. There is such a wide variety of
staff talent, with such wonderful ideas that most
certainly push the barriers of what you perceive
as achievable. Whether you are in an admin or
support role or working as a lead technologist, you
always feel a part of the success of UK Innovation.”
“Whether you are
in an admin or support
role or working as
a lead technologist,
you always feel a part
of the success of UK
Innovation”
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Graduate Recruitment Scheme | 2015
6. Graduate Recruitment Scheme | 2015
“Working at
Innovate UK is truly
exciting... I feel lucky
to have glimpses at
what it may be like in
the future”
Jon
Operations
6
Harsh
Innovation Programmes
“I recently joined Innovate UK as
a lead technologist in the Energy
team. It is an organisation with
a unique purpose, supporting
innovation across the UK economy.
I received a warm welcome when
I joined and all throughout the
induction process. I have been
impressed by the talented and
engaged staff with plenty of
conversations about cutting
edge technologies. In my role
supporting carbon reduction in the
energy sector, I cover exciting pre-
commercial technologies such as
CCS, hydrogen, industrial energy
efficiency, and fuel cells. I am
motivated by the huge economic
and environmental benefits to the
UK if these can be commercialised.”
Jon
Operations
“Working at Innovate UK is truly
exciting; to experience so many
different projects and technologies
is not something many have the
opportunity to do, and I feel lucky
to have glimpses at what it may be
like in the future. It will never be
easy to appreciate the full impact
of InnovateUK funding due to the
scale, but knowing that one day I
could come across something and
be able to say ‘we funded that’
would be great.
With this, there is a genuine sense
of personal pride to be able to say I
work at Innovate UK.”
7. 7
“My new role
has allowed me to
immediately get
involved in a big new
initiative in the life
sciences sector ”
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Graduate Recruitment Scheme | 2015
Sophie – Innovation Programmes
“I joined Innovate UK in January 2015 and my
new role at Innovate UK has allowed me to
immediately get involved in a big new initiative in
the life sciences sector – the development of a new
Catapult in the area of precision medicine. Through
my involvement in the Catapult location decision-
making process, I have met just over a hundred
new contacts in my first month in the job including
companies, academics, clinicians, ministers and
chief scientific advisers.
My experience of the organisation has been very
positive – arriving on day one I received a clearly
defined induction and networking programme to
help me to settle in. I would definitely recommend
Innovate UK as an employer, in fact I’ve already
spoken to two colleagues in my external network
who are looking for a job here!”
8. Graduate Recruitment Scheme | 2015
Anna
Information Technology
“Joining Innovate UK during a period
of rapid growth has meant I’ve been
able to help shape the direction of
the organisation as well as making
sure we have the right resources in
place to get where we need to be.
There are lots of opportunities for
collaboration across departments
and it is refreshing to work with
colleagues who are so passionate
about their specialist areas, be it
digital communications or low
impact buildings. Hard work is
recognised and I’ve been lucky
enough to have the support of my
team to progress in terms of my own
career development.
The Innovate UK 2014 event was
a highlight for me, not only seeing
all the imaginative products we’ve
supported but also hearing about
the stream of creative ideas and
solutions that others are looking
to make a reality. I look forward to
seeing what we can help deliver
in 2015.”
Christian
Innovation Programmes
“I enjoy working at Innovate
UK because of the multitude of
backgrounds and experience that
our people have. One day you
can be talking to someone about
the next generation of solar cell,
another the attitude of people
towards electric vehicles, and
the next, novel digital solutions
for healthcare.
What gets really exciting is when
some of those conversations turn
into new possibilities for another
sector and start to develop as ideas
of how we can support business.
Innovate UK is a hive of all sorts of
activities, all with one goal, to help
support UK businesses develop
their innovations to help solve
challenges we all face today and in
the future.”
“I enjoy working at
Innovate UK because
of the multitude of
backgrounds and
experience that our
people have”
Christian
Innovation
Programmes
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9. Graduate Recruitment Scheme | 2015
Operations
The Operations directorate manages the
whole of the Grant Operations process
from initial conception to agreement,to the
payment of financial claims.
The department has teams looking after
competitions,grants and contracts,due
diligence,monitoring and claims and payments.
The Operations directorate employs circa
45 staff working across these core functions
mainly in our Swindon offices.
Innovation
Programmes
The Innovation Programmes department is
at the core of what Innovate UK does,and is
responsible for developing and implementing,
with partners,our strategy for innovation in
specific sectors.The group includes specialists
in areas from energy to transport,and from
space to health and care.Our Innovation
Programmes team works across the UK
and further afield,understanding the needs
of business and liaising with innovation
partners including businesses large and small,
academics,research council staff,civil servants
and ministers.
Information
Technology
The IT and Enterprise Services department
is based in Swindon and supports the
organisation through three main functions:
• Enterprise services and programme
management: project managers and
business analysts who manage business
change programmes,aiming for efficiency
and continuous improvement of
our processes.
• The IT services team works to ensure
the systems and IT infrastructure across
Innovate UK are operating efficiently and to
resolve any problems.
• The business intelligence and
management information team is
responsible for making sure the information
we hold on our activities is available,accurate
and accessible as appropriate.
There are opportunities for new graduates in several of our
directorates, or departments.
For information on the specific roles available to new graduates,
see Role Profiles on our graduate recruitment pages at
www.innovateuk.gov.uk (click on Jobs).
Departments and roles
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10. Graduate Recruitment Scheme | 2015
Graduate mentorship
and‘buddies’
New recruits under our new graduate scheme will have
line management and team support in developing their
core,role-specific skills,but each person will also be
assigned both a buddy and a longer-term mentor.These
two roles combine to welcome new graduates and to
acclimatise them to work and life at Innovate UK.
The buddy is likely to be on the same level as the new
employee,and will support them in the first month,
helping with things like getting to grips with hardware
and software,understanding the different functions and
knowing who is who.
The mentor provides longer-term support—for six,12 or
18 months—and helps with the employee’s growth and
development at Innovate UK.
Training
Some of the training you receive will be within
your department and some will take the form of
programmes run centrally for those on the
graduate scheme.
Beyond initial training in the first year to build a core
understanding of the organisation,how it works and
the environment it operates in,there is a wide range
of potential training opportunities to explore as
you continue to grow during your time at Innovate
UK.These might include,for example,training in IT,
digital or project management skills,soft skills such
as presenting,time management and leadership,or
professional qualifications.
At Innovate UK we invest in our people, and new graduates are no exception.
We recognise that support and development are vital at this stage in your career.
Support and development
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Graduate Recruitment Scheme | 2015
Naturally, there are a number of steps to go through before
you can join our team. Here’s what happens next.
All applications are made through our
online recruitment site.Go to
www.innovateuk.gov.uk and scroll
down to Jobs.To begin,you will
be asked to complete the online
application form and upload your CV.
Once complete we will ask you to take
a couple of short,online tests to review
your basic verbal and numerical skills.
All applications must be submitted by
the closing date,which is 31
March 2015.
We will assess applications based on
the role profiles and requirements
and create a selected list to go to the
next stage.We will let you know in the
second week of April whether you have
been successful.
If you are selected,you will be invited
to attend an assessment centre in
Swindon for a full day on Tuesday
28 April.You will tackle a variety of
exercises as well as a short panel
interview designed to explore your fit
with Innovate UK’s core competencies.
A final short list of candidates will
then be invited to attend interviews at
Innovate UK from mid May to early
July,when final decisions will be taken
on which candidates will be invited
to join.
We ask that all applicants be available
for the April assessment,and remain
flexible from mid May to earlyJuly for
final interviews.
How to apply
If joining the UK’s
innovation agency
sounds like it could be
foryou,apply now
Closing Date:
31 March 2015
For more information or to apply go to www.innovateuk.gov.uk and click on Jobs
