Search
Coventry University joins £6.75m programme to boost creative technology innovation in the West Midlands
Coventry city centre
Thursday 28 November 2024
Press contact
Coventry University has joined forces with Birmingham City University, the University of Birmingham, the University of Warwick and the Royal Shakespeare Company to develop and grow creative technologies in the West Midlands, positioning the region as a global leader in the sector.
The universities will lead a £6.75m programme funded by investment from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) on behalf of UK Research and Innovation, which will support businesses, drive collaborative research and development and address regional challenges such as skills gaps, underinvestment and lack of diversity in the creative technology sector.
The five-year programme, titled CreaTech Frontiers, aims to utilise and combine expertise across high-demand sectors such as artificial intelligence, immersive technologies, digital arts, live performance and gaming to create a multifaceted support system for the region’s creative technology businesses.
Four specialist research and development labs will serve as the foundation of the programme: Virtual Production (Coventry University); Immersive Audio and Video Technologies (Birmingham City University); Applied AI for Createch (University of Birmingham); and Gaming, Esports and Animation. (University of Warwick).
These labs will work collaboratively across cultural, creative and technology sectors to explore and advance the development of new products, services, content and concepts. Further research and innovation will be driven by pilot production and demonstrator activities, with the Royal Shakespeare Company playing a key role.
CreaTech Frontiers' innovation-led activity is set to hand out £1.8 million in funding grants to regional SMEs, offering awards between £5,000 and £50,000. This funding, combined with business support, 70 paid internships and 16 fully funded PhD placements, is designed to build local talent, the innovation ecosystem and drive long-term industry growth.
The project will be supported by a network of industry and cultural collaborators, including Vodafone, ARUP, Rebellion, Hollywood Gaming, Birmingham Open Media, Mirrorpix, Capture, Culture Central and the Birmingham Opera Company.
Led by Birmingham City University, the programme will see Professor Nick Henry, Director of Coventry University’s Research Centre for Creative Economies, serve as Co-Investigator and Rachel Farrer, Coventry University’s Associate Director of Cultural Community Engagement as a key project collaborator.
AHRC is delighted to announce a new wave of Creative Industries Clusters that will create vital support for technology and innovation in the UK’s world-leading creative industries and expand our regional investment.
They will support artists and creators so they can benefit from new technologies across a wide range of platforms, and develop their innovation and business skills.
The remarkable projects made possible through our Creative Industries Clusters span sustainable fashion, game design and extended reality, and have attracted major co-investment. They have helped solve real-world problems and they deliver commercial benefits to the UK economy in line with the Government’s Industrial Strategy.
Professor Christopher Smith, Executive Chair of the Arts and Humanities Research Council
Coventry University are thrilled to be part of this successful collaboration to drive further recognition of and growth in the expertise, skills and dynamism of culture, creativity and technology in the West Midlands. In uncertain times we remain committed as a university to supporting our creative region and its businesses, talent and communities to thrive as a global leader in creative technology.
Professor Nick Henry, Director of the Centre for Creative Economies, Coventry University
The creative sector in the West Midlands is a key part of Birmingham City University's heritage as well as the city’s future. We believe that supporting people in the region to develop the skills required is essential to keeping the ecosystem thriving – and this is what we are striving to do through the University's new strategy.
We’re delighted to be leading this project, which can help secure the future of the creative industries for the region.
Professor David Mba, Vice-Chancellor of Birmingham City University
To deliver inclusive growth, CreaTech Frontiers will embed principles of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), as well as sustainable and responsible innovation practices, ensuring that the programme’s benefits are accessible to the diversity of talent and communities in the West Midlands.
Find out more about CreaTech Frontiers.
Find out more about the Research Centre for Creative Economies.
