Northumbria University is playing a leading role in the new £40 million nationwide Institute of Coding, established to plug the digital skills gap and give UK an edge in the global digital economy.

Launched by Prime Minister Theresa May at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Institute of Coding aims to boost the employability of digital specialists and bring more people from underrepresented groups into the tech sector, which is growing twice as fast as the rest of the economy.

More than 500,000 highly trained computer scientists will be needed by 2022 – three times the number of UK Computer Sciences graduates in the last 10 years – but a gap in digital skills means many need a wider skills base to be more attractive to employers. The Government has committed £20 million funding, via the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), matched by more than £20 million from partner organisations, to address this issue.

The Institute, led by the University of Bath, will bring together a world-class consortium of 25 universities – including Northumbria, Newcastle and Sunderland in the North East region– with national and international corporations such as IBM, Cisco and Microsoft, SMEs, training providers and professional bodies, such as the British Computer Society. They will work together through the Institute to develop apprenticeship, undergraduate and masters programmes throughout the UK.

It will develop and deliver innovative, industry-focused higher education across the UK, with a vision to enhance the education and employability of every learner, and ensure that employers and individuals across the UK can access the skills they need to compete in the global digital economy.

As a founder member, Northumbria’s expertise in working with industrial partners and in the delivery of degree apprenticeships, places the University in an excellent position to help the Institute to close skill gaps in this sector. This will be of particular benefit in the region, where Northumbria will work in partnership with Newcastle and Sunderland Universities as the North East hub of the Institute of Coding.

The University will receive £512,000 from HEFCE to deliver its contribution to the project and will match-fund this amount with contributions from industrial partners.

In a further boost to the region’s digital skills sector, the University will shortly be opening a new purpose-built £7 million building for the 1,200 students based in the Department of Computer and Information Sciences, equipping them with the latest cutting-edge technologies for learning and research. The department encompasses the University’s research and teaching in areas including computer science, games, animation and visual effects, computer forensics and security, digital networks and technologies, library management, big data and information sciences.