Christopher Barnatt, one of the country’s leading futurists, Associate Professor at Nottingham University and the author of ten books, will offer a glimpse of what the future has in store for local businesses when he is guest speaker at an event in Leicester today.
The ‘Vision of the Future – looking ahead to 2025’ breakfast event takes place at the Leicester office of business and financial adviser Grant Thornton UK LLP, which is hosting the seminar in conjunction with Lloyds Bank.
Christopher Barnatt has been a professional futurist for over twenty years. He runs ExplainingTheFuture.com, as well as being Associate Professor of Strategy and Future Studies in Nottingham University Business School.
Speaking at the interactive seminar, he will highlight the next ‘big technologies’, what future challenges are set to impact all businesses, and discuss issues from Peak Water and resource depletion, to 3D printing, quantum computing, and post-genomic medicine.
He aims to equip businesses to prepare for the future, with reviews of how synthetic biology and vertical farms will allow the local production of food, fuel, medicine and other materials, how pharmacogenetics will transform healthcare, how there may be 200 million humanoid robots sharing the planet with us by 2030, and how 3D printing will help to achieve energy and material savings through local additive manufacturing.
“For several decades, 3D printing has been used almost exclusively as a prototyping technology,” explains Christopher. “But this is now changing, with 20 percent of 3D printed items already being final parts. By 2020, this figure is expected to rise to 50 percent, and fairly soon 3D printing and related local digital manufacturing technologies are going to do for physical things what the Internet did for information, and few businesses can ignore this future challenge and opportunity.”
Grant Thornton’s Practice Leader Chris Frostwick adds: “The Futurologist event is a chance to gain a rare insight into the academic predictions for the emerging technologies, challenges and opportunities on the horizon. The seminar will be informal and interactive, and a breath of fresh air in the world of business seminars!”
Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking Area Director for the East Midlands, Dene Jones, said: “It will be beneficial for local businesses to hear the predictions for the future, so that they can equip their business for what lies ahead and can plan to capitalise on growth opportunities.”
