University News Last updated 07 July
Birmingham City University (BCU) has confirmed its role as an academic delivery partner in two of three flagship programmes launched through the UK Government's £50 million West Midlands Local Innovation Partnerships Fund (LIPF).
The news reinforces the University's position at the heart of the region's high-growth business support ecosystem.
BCU is a key partner in the West Midlands Clinical Commercial Catalyst (CCC), a £20 million programme led by the University of Birmingham. It will also play a significant role in the Creative Industries Scale-up Lab (CISL), a £10 million programme led by the University of Warwick.
Together, the two programmes include a combined £10.5 million flexible fund for scale-up businesses and form part of a wider £50 million regional investment to help innovative companies in health and life sciences, and creative and immersive technologies, develop and commercialise new products and services.
BCU's dual involvement is timely given that businesses are now able to register expressions of interest for both programmes.
High-growth SMEs and scale-ups can draw on a single, connected source of academic expertise spanning immersive technology, digital manufacturing, engineering, AI, cybersecurity and data.
This is underpinned by BCU's strategic links via STEAMhouse with NHS organisations including Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, Royal Orthopaedic Hospital and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust.
Through the CCC, BCU will contribute specialist capability in digital engineering, cybersecurity, digital compliance, AI integration and clinical feasibility testing, helping businesses develop secure, compliant digital health technologies ready for adoption.
Within the CISL, the University will draw on its interdisciplinary STEAM, AI-enabled and design-led innovation expertise to support the diffusion of creative and immersive technologies across the region's high-growth clusters and drive growth in the Birmingham Knowledge quarter.
In both cases, BCU’s interdisciplinary STEAM Hubs will play a key role, bringing together academic expertise, industry and public sector partners around major real-world challenges, providing businesses with coordinated access to specialist knowledge, innovation capability and collaborative research.
Dr Umar Daraz, BCU's Principal Investigator lead for both the CCC and CISL, said: "Being selected to support two of the three LIPF programmes is a real vote of confidence in BCU's ability to translate applied research into commercial impact at scale.
“Our STEAM innovation campus and strategic NHS relationships mean businesses working with BCU gain a direct line into real clinical and operational environments, not just academic insight.
“By operating across both programmes, BCU is uniquely placed to support businesses at the intersection of health and creative technology exactly what high-growth businesses need from an academic partner."
Professor Adel Aneiba, Dean of the School of Architecture, Built Environment, Computing and Engineering at BCU, added: "The School's expertise will be central to how BCU delivers value through both programmes.
“Our engineering and computing academics work at the intersection of digital manufacturing, engineering, AI, cybersecurity and data and can flex across both CCC and CISL to meet businesses where they are.
“That joined-up, practical support is exactly what's needed to turn regional investment into real commercial outcomes."
Professor Hanifa Shah OBE, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research, Enterprise, Engagement and STEAM at BCU, said: "These partnerships demonstrate the power of collaboration to translate world-class research into real-world impact.
“Our involvement in the CC and CISL reflects our commitment to research and innovation that delivers tangible benefits for society and reinforces our role in supporting the West Midlands as a globally competitive centre for innovation."
Businesses can now register an expression of interest for funding and partnership opportunities via the Business Growth West Midlands website.
Pictured: Professor Hanifa Shah OBE speaking at Friday's official launch at The Exchange.