prabhu
Fifteen Midlands universities recently launched Forging Ahead, an initiative designed to turn research and innovation into real-world impact and high-growth ventures.
Loughborough University and Midlands Innovation are spearheading the five-year programme, which bids to rewrite the United Kingdom’s commercialisation vision.
They secured £9.9 million for the project from Research England’s Connecting Capability Fund and another £6.1m in contributions from partners.
Forging Ahead is designed to boost commercialisation across the Midlands by scaling innovation, and growing entrepreneurs and businesses.
More importantly, the scheme will ensure that worthwhile research is not simply wasting away on shelves when it can be the engine of the future economy.
New Scheme Could Raise the Region’s Profile
The Midlands is an area that breeds innovation. It is home to 11 percent of the high-growth companies in the UK and has an economy that can match many other nations.
However, even though the Midlands has produced 169 university-based companies since 2010, the region records only 15 pence in investment for every £1 raised by counterparts in London, Oxford and Cambridge.
This disparity is damning and has made the region unwilling to export its innovation, with around 40% of those university spin-outs leaving the Midlands to look for places with better funding records.
Forging Ahead will hopefully end that frustrating brain drain in multiple phases. The programme is expected to help expand accelerators, support talents, build solid networks and get growth initiatives ready for investment.
Forging Ahead will switch focus to sectors such as advanced manufacturing, health and med tech, net zero and creative & digital, looking to establish the Midlands as a national leader in innovation.
Birmingham City University (BCU) will play a key role in the consortium and could strive to take Forging Ahead international.
BCU has long-standing educational and commercial ties with Saudi Arabia. They may tap into that relationship to open new doors in different sectors, including iGaming.
Gaming set to Boom in the Middle East
Under the Saudi Arabia Vision 2030 mandate, the Middle Eastern nation wants to become an advanced digital economy, and gaming will play a crucial role.
Saudi Arabia has invested billions of dollars into development studios, eSports and technology infrastructure. BCU can tap into Saudi Arabia’s resources to bring innovation to the iGaming industry.
There are already several Saudi Arabia online casino platforms which welcome Arab players, but they operate under licences issued in other jurisdictions.
However, the Kingdom may consider creating its own legal entity to oversee the iGaming industry if their partnership with BCU develops.
BCU has strong connections with Saudi Arabia and hosts hundreds of Saudi students every year. The students are usually on scholarships from the Saudi Arabian Cultural Bureau (SACB) and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR).
They come from different disciplines, such as engineering, business management and construction. This academic exchange is already spinning into a business collaboration.
The BCU international office has forged relationships with Saudi institutions such as the Global School of Technology and Management and the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC).
Led by Miza Ahmed of BCU, these links are now connecting gaming start-ups in Birmingham with investors, collaborators and markets in Saudi Arabia.
Forging Ahead Must Spread its Wings Globally
BCU is bringing innovation, Saudi Arabia is always ready to invest capital, and this commercialisation pipeline looks promising. The international angle is critical.
If Forging Ahead wants to convince the world that the Midlands is a hotspot for commercialisation, it must have access to fast-growing markets such as the Middle East.
The gaming sector is just one of the many examples of how this partnership between the Midlands and the Middle East can tap into global demand.
Policymakers in the UK are already celebrating the initiative. UK Science Minister Lord Vallance described the region as a ‘bustling hub of innovation’.
During his tour, Lord Vallance stopped at the STEAMhouse at BCU to inspect the co-working, research and business creation space.
The clinical pharmacologist also visited Aston University to meet spin-out founders already doing great things in health tech, optics and clean energy.
Forging Ahead is a rare regional programme that has the potential to make a slash regionally and globally by betting on collaboration, action and commercialisation.
The scheme can create an unforgettable legacy far beyond the Midlands, spurring universities and entrepreneurs to flourish.
