Northumbria
University has been named as part of a multi-million-pound investment that will
help boost the region’s tech and digital sector.
The North of Tyne Combined Authority has
announced that it will invest £12m to boost the digital sector in Newcastle,
North Tyneside and Northumberland.
The investment, which includes £7m for
a 5G and Future Connectivity fund, will be used to create jobs in a ‘digital
ecosystem’ of mutually supportive tech businesses and organisations.
It will help create 600 jobs and
safeguard a further 140. It will also unlock support for over 500 enterprises
and 450 residents and underpins the Combined Authority’s ambition to be a hub
for inclusive innovation and world class research and development.
Plans also include providing £5m to
support start-ups and unlock the potential of digital and tech businesses,
working with partners including Northumbria University, Dynamo NE, Innovation
Super Network, Ignite, Digital Catapult, TEDCO, NGI and the Academic Health
Science Network.
Northumbria
plays a significant regional role in the digital economy by providing graduates
and post-graduates with advanced digital skills, as well as contributing to
research and innovation. For example, the Northumbria-led International Centre for Connected Construction (IC3) is a centre of excellence for digital
construction fostering world leading research in collaboration with industry
and the public sector.
Professor
Rebecca Strachan, Deputy Faculty Pro-Vice Chancellor (Engineering and
Environment) at Northumbria University, said: “We are delighted to be part of
this investment to expand the region’s digital sector. Northumbria will
particularly focus on using our digital construction expertise and the
International Centre for Connected Construction to support spin outs and
digital innovation among both new and existing construction businesses.”
North of Tyne leaders said the
investment would future proof the region’s economy, laying the foundations for
further investment and growth.
It builds on previous
multi-million-pound investments to improve rural internet connectivity and
access to digital expertise that is already unlocking data-driven innovation
and the adoption of new technologies by local businesses.
North of Tyne Cabinet Member for Clean
Energy and Connectivity, Councillor Richard Wearmouth, said the investment was
an example of ‘levelling up’ that would build the foundation for tomorrow's digital economy.
“This will be a game changer for the
region,” he said. “It will accelerate investment in infrastructure and
connectivity in the North of Tyne, supporting the industry-led innovation of
our rapidly growing tech sector.
“From Artificial Intelligence to data
clouds, from Digital Innovation Hubs to ‘deep tech' start-ups, innovation,
growth and productivity, and technology will go hand in hand.”
A report by Tech Nation in 2018
highlighted Newcastle as the seventh fastest growing tech hub in the UK. Reports
by Tech Nation and the UK Tech Cluster Group in 2021 highlighted Newcastle and
the wider region as a major tech hub in the UK.
