Three universities have been awarded a share of £4.5 million to fund small and medium-sized enterprise engagement hubs.
As part of the Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation (HNCDI) programme, Cardiff University, Newcastle University and Ulster University will provide targeted and accessible support for SMEs to improve their competitiveness and growth through the adoption of digital technologies and methods.
Their support will assist their regional SMEs in taking full advantage of the digital adoption expertise available from the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC) Hartree Centre including areas such as supercomputing, data analytics, visual computing and artificial intelligence.
The universities will also use their own in-house expertise and industry engagement experience to enable the transfer and exchange of knowledge into UK businesses to enhance their productivity, innovation and growth.
Through this initiative, the Hartree Centre aims to establish an SME engagement support network across the UK, which connects its advanced digital technologies and expertise to other established regional networks of industry-led research and innovation.
“It’s important to us that support for digital technology adoption reaches as many companies across the UK as possible, and the Hartree Centre SME hubs will enhance that regional access,” said Professor Kate Royse, director of the STFC Hartree Centre.
“The partner organisations we’ve selected have a wealth of data science and AI expertise that builds on our own, and will be key to the Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation growing our SME networks and supporting more organisations to upskill and carry out digital transformation.
“The SME hubs will help the Hartree Centre support the UK to put digital innovation at the heart of our future economic sustainability.”
With an equal share of the £4.5m funding, the SME hubs will be funded for three years to establish a network of digital adoption support that is easily accessible and available locally to SMEs across the UK.
The universities will become regional hubs for the Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation programme, with the Hartree Centre, located within Sci-Tech Daresbury in the Liverpool City Region, as the central locus of activity.
The Hartree Centre’s support can also be accessed through existing STFC campus locations in Oxfordshire and Edinburgh, Scotland.