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Coventry University plays vital role in boosting growth in the West Midlands
University news
Tuesday 14 October 2025
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Coventry University is playing a key role in a programme designed to safeguard thousands of jobs and boost growth in the West Midlands.
As part of the West Midlands Investment Zone (WMIZ) Supply Chain Transition programme, the university will provide support to businesses looking to grow into priority markets for the WMIZ.
These include aerospace, electrical light vehicles and battery technologies, future housing, med tech/health tech, and smart energy systems.
Along with experts from other universities and organisations in the region, Coventry University’s technical and skills specialists will deliver bespoke, targeted support to businesses whilst supporting the development and delivery of grant-funded research and development projects.
The programme is backed with £12.5 million Government funding with an additional £2.5m of WMIZ funding for skills training and routes to apprenticeships from the West Midlands Combined Authority.
The Supply Chain Transition programme will give businesses fully funded practical advice, access to a £6m research and development grant fund, and training for senior leaders.
We will enable local firms to scale and grow by harnessing our deep expertise in research, prototyping and upskilling.
We will co-create next-generation solutions, embed new capabilities within SMEs, and accelerate access to emerging markets such as smart energy systems, electric vehicles, and battery technologies. Together with the other consortium partners, we’ll transform the regional supply chain ecosystem – turning ambition into tangible growth and strengthening the position of the West Midlands as a world leader in high-value manufacturing.
Paul Fairburn, Director of Innovation, CU Services Ltd - the commercial arm of the university group
Manufacturing is still the beating heart of the West Midlands economy, it’s in our DNA. But we’re ever evolving as technology transforms what we make and how we make it.
It’s essential to modernise production, upskill our workforce, and support business leaders with the training, funding, and guidance they need to be at the cutting edge of 21st century clean and high-tech industries.
Opportunities are coming in this new era for manufacturing. And we’re making sure businesses and local people are ready to seize the moment so we can protect and create more high-quality jobs. This is a chance to reclaim our status as the workshop of the world.
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands
Businesses already based here can now apply to join the WM Investment Zone Supply Chain Transition programme on the Business Growth West Midlands website.
The West Midlands Investment Zone covers the whole region and is powered through three specific sites. Coventry-Warwick Gigapark at Coventry Airport, Birmingham Knowledge Quarter, and Wolverhampton Green Innovation Corridor are offering a range of incentives from tax breaks to direct funding to attract major new employers to the region, creating 30,000 jobs and driving more than £5.5 billion of new investment.
Find out more about the opportunities to be delivered by the West Midlands Investment Zone, and the Supply Chain Transition programme.
