Cranfield University is part of a coalition of seventeen universities from
the Midlands who have launched a new £3 million international campaign to
attract inward investment into R&D, innovation and science – leveraging
global connections to drive economic growth across the region.
Led by Midlands Innovation
and the
Midlands Engine Partnership
and hosted at Loughborough University, the
Invest in UK University R&D – Midlands Campaign
has been developed with a range of regional partners including the West
Midlands Growth Company, Midlands Enterprise Universities and the East
Midlands Freeport.
It was launched at the UK Real Estate, Infrastructure and Investment Forum (UKREIIF), which was attended by nearly 13,000 investors, delegates and developers.
Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation, Andrew Griffith MP, announced an award of £1.5 million from the UK’s International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF) to support the campaign over the next two years, which has been matched by universities and regional partners. The Minister said: “The UK is home to world class research hubs and by bringing together the expertise and connections of universities, government and industry, we can bolster our efforts to win international investment into some of the Midlands’ strongest sectors. Our country’s universities have directly attracted around £4bn of foreign investment into their research since 2015. The new campaign, supported by £1.5m from the Government’s International Science Partnership Fund, will help bring in more backing for the region's excellent research.”
Cranfield will join universities across the Midlands to develop an ambitious offer to global investors, showcasing sectors where the region is world-renowned for the strength of its research and innovation. The universities will also leverage international alumni, industry and university connections in six markets (Australia, Germany, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and the USA) to engage investors and raise the profile of the Midlands.
The campaign will also work closely with Midlands Mindforge, an independent patient capital investment company, established by the eight research intensive universities in the Midlands Innovation partnership. Midlands Mindforge aims to deploy £250m to “invest with impact”, founding and scaling companies in sectors such as clean technologies, AI, life sciences and health technology. It will create highly skilled jobs in the Midlands and support the UK’s ambition to become a science and technology superpower.
Welcoming the announcement of the Campaign at UKREIIF, the Minister for Investment, Lord Dominic Johnson said: “Our unrivalled universities are attracting the world's brightest minds to the UK, boosting innovation and helping to drive record levels of overseas investment into our country. This has helped some of our world-leading sectors in life sciences, AI, nuclear and others reach new heights and put the UK on the way to becoming a science and technology superpower. With support from the Office for Investment, the wider department has worked closely with Midlands Mindforge to help drive efforts to attract significant investment into the Midlands' economy."
Professor Karen Holford CBE FREng, Chief Executive and Vice-Chancellor of Cranfield University, and Chair of the Midlands Innovation Board, welcomed the news: “We’re proud to be part of such a vibrant eco-system of innovation and collaboration. With world-class facilities, talent, technology and research happening in our region, the Midlands is a really exciting prospect for global investors.”
The campaign is also being supported by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the UK’s Global Science and Innovation Network (SIN), which is jointly funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
