The government is turning to regional spinouts to accelerate UK tech growth with a £30m support package for four research hubs across the country.
Universities in Merseyside, East Anglia, the Midlands and the North East will receive new funds to encourage more spinouts, or tech companies founded from students and staff based on an institutions’ research.
The funding will be deployed via a taskforce of universities and industry experts in these select locations, in order to support incubator programmes and tech transfer offices responsible for turning academic work into viable businesses.
“The UK is home to some of the world’s best universities, and we have deep strengths from life sciences to cutting-edge fields like quantum and engineering biology,” said Science Minister Lord Vallance.
“But we can and must do more to unlock scientific research’s vast economic potential, and to help our innovators world-leading public sector labs turn brilliant ideas into businesses that attract investment and sustain jobs.”
Vallance announced the scheme during a visit to Aston University in Birmingham.
Other universities involved in the plan include Durham, Newcastle, Coventry, Liverpool and Leicester.
“Industry Academia partnerships create the ideal setting for transforming groundbreaking research into spinouts, addressing real world challenges while fostering economic growth and creating pathways for talented researchers to become entrepreneurs,” added Ana Avaliani, director of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Enterprise Hub.
“These spinouts drive innovation and represent a crucial and growing component in our economic future.”
The government also announced plans to support spinout generation from within the public sector with support from industry experts and investment for research and development.
Read more: UK spinout funding is back with £1bn raised in first half of the year
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