UK Trade and Investment

This Friday, Enterprising Music will bring together experienced entrepreneurs, recent startups and individuals eager to join the music business.

Social and digital technologies have been at the heart of a dramatic shift in the music industry and while the old order has been challenged, high-speed connectivity, frictionless sharing, the rise of peer-to-peer and social networks have turned crisis into innovation.

The full programme has just been announced, get ready for a busy & insightful day!

Taking place next week, Enterprising Fashion will bring together experienced entrepreneurs, recent startups and individuals eager to join the fashion industry.

Covering everything from data-driven fashion to 3D printing, fast fashion and sustainable brands, you'll hear from industry leaders and there'll also be a chance to pool knowledge in a collaborative 'ideas exchange' session.

The full programme has just been announced, get ready for a busy and insightful day...

UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), in partnership with the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), is launching a unique competition for UK start-ups actively working in the consumer electronics space to attend the world’s largest consumer electronics show - 2013 International CES - in Las Vegas in January 2013 and CES Unveiled LONDON 2012.

UKTI’s competition will give the winning UK start-ups an unmatched opportunity to be part the world’s largest and most prestigious consumer electronics show.

This is a guest blog by Joyce Sullivan / Social Media Week.

I hear the weather was dreadful in London on Monday morning but the talks and conversations sparkled at Using Social To Go Global Supported by Open to Export.

The session kicked off with Sam Michel of Chinwag aka @toodlepip welcoming all with a ‘meet your neighbour’ greet.

Philip Montague @PhilSMEin of hibu kicked off the morning talks by first sharing a boyhood memory how he confidently jumped off the back of his grandfather’s sailboat to swim to secure the dinghy line that came undone. Though confident he could make the journey on his own, he realised he needed help to get back to the boat. Lesson learned: as confident as you may be, you may need some help with your journey. Philip’s intro framed the mission for Open to Export how they help UK businesses navigate their product export potential.

The deadline for UKTI's high profile Trade Mission to China (taking place 28th May - 1st June 2012) has been extended to end of play, Wednesday 25th April.

The multi-sector mission, which will be led by Lord Green, Minister of State for Trade & Investment, is timed to coincide with the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) and will also include a "UK Day" Showcase with networking and bespoke b2b meetings, networking with Chinese government officials and more.

UKTI Trade and Investment are running a high profile Trade Mission to China from 28th May - 1st June 2012, led by Lord Green, Minister of State for Trade & Investment.

The multi-sector mission is timed to coincide with the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) and will also include a "UK Day" Showcase with networking and bespoke b2b meetings, networking with Chinese government officials and more.

To apply, complete this application form and return to Allegra at B-to-B (details on form or below). Closing date for applications is Friday 20th April.

Are you making the trip over to Austin, Texas next month to South by South West?

Team Chinwag will be there, along with the UKTI Mission to SXSW companies, so if you'd like to catch-up, please come and find us! Check out the list below to see where we'll be.

Also, if you're heading out and would like the chance to chatter with other UK delegates who'll also be there, come along to our Pre-SXSW 2012 Mixer, 6.30 - 9.30pm on Wednesday 29th Feb in Central London.

You may also find it useful to check out these 50 Essential SXSW Tips.

UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and Thomson Reuters have teamed up to provide UK technology companies with the chance to demo their products at UK Demo Day on Sunday 11th March at this year's South By Southwest Interactive (SXSWi). 

Congratulations to the 40 leading UK digital companies selected for this year's UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) Mission to South by South West 2012.

The exciting mission will see the companies travel out to Austin, Texas for an action-packed 5 days at SXSW Interactive, one of the largest and most well known conferences focused on digital media and technology.

Each of the companies joining the mission are listed below, don't hesitate to drop them a line directly to arrange a time to meet up in Austin, or follow their progress via their Twitter accounts. You can follow the UKTI team's coverage of the mission on Twitter @uktiatsxswi.

It's that time of the year again...when all the geeks around the globe start to get twitchy, flights start getting booked up and Austin, Texas starts to brace itself for the thousands of digital folk that will be embarking on the massive annual gathering that is South By South West Interactive 2012 (SXSW). 

During my dreary morning commute this morning, I was flicking through the Metro only to stumble across a feature including UKTI Mission to SXSW Alumni, ParcelGenie.

Social Media Week London generated so much coverage that it's taken us a little while to pull together all the information. This review brings together the video, photos and coverage from "From Silicon Roundabouts to a Silicon World over Breakfast", hosted by UK Trade and Investment (UKTI).

The breakfast event helped attendees to find out more about using social media and communities to develop international business. UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) are a UK government organisation that help UK firms build their export business.

I’m writing this a few days after returning back to the UK after attending “South by South-West” (SXSW) Interactive, Austin, Texas. It’s an enormous conference or festival of all things digital and web related. In Silicon Valley it’s known as “spring break for geeks”, an apt description which describes the attendees and the atmosphere just a little too well.

It’s spread over 5 days, with talks, discussions, panels and keynotes running all through the day with parties running all through the night. There is simply no other conference like it. You won’t see people in suits, instead, flip flops, shorts and a T-shirt branded with your company logo is fairly typical.

There's been lots of interest in the UKTI Trade Mission to SXSW (10th -15th March) so we've extended the deadline until Monday 7th February. If you are looking to expand into the US this is the perfect opportunity, so go and apply now and you could get yourself a place on the UKTI Trade Mission to SXSWi.