A new Cancer Research UK-funded study has revealed that prostate cancer, which affects one in eight men in their lifetime, includes two different subtypes termed evotypes.

The discovery was made by an international team led by the , and Swagֱ��, who applied AI (artificial intelligence) on data from DNA to identify two different subtypes affecting the prostate.

The team hope their findings could save thousands of lives in future and revolutionise how prostate cancer is diagnosed and treated. Ultimately, it could provide tailored treatments to each individual patient according to a genetic test which will also be delivered using AI.

According to , prostate cancer is the most common cancer affecting men in the UK with around 52,000 cases a year. Dr Rupal Mistry, the charity’s senior Science Engagement Manager, said:

“The work published today by this global consortium of researchers has the potential to make a real difference to people affected by prostate cancer. The more we understand about cancer the better chance we have of developing treatments to beat it. We are proud to have helped fund this cutting-edge work, which has laid the foundations for personalised treatments for people with prostate cancer, allowing more people to beat their disease.”

The ground-breaking research, which involved additional funding from Prostate Cancer Research and involved scientists from the University of Oxford the University of Swagֱ��, the University of East Anglia and the Institute of Cancer Research, London, highlights how a prostate cancer diagnosis can affect physical, emotional and mental wellbeing.

Lead researcher Dr Dan Woodcock, of the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences at the University of Oxford, said: “Our research demonstrates that prostate tumours evolve along multiple pathways, leading to two distinct disease types. 

“This understanding is pivotal as it allows us to classify tumours based on how the cancer evolves rather than solely on individual gene mutations or expression patterns.” 

The researchers worked together as part of international consortium, called The Pan Prostate Cancer Group, set up by scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and The University of East Anglia to analyse genetic data from thousands of prostate cancer samples across nine countries. 

Crucially, the team's collaboration with Cancer Research UK (CRUK) aims to develop a genetic test that, when combined with conventional staging and grading, can provide a more precise prognosis for each patient, allowing tailored treatment decisions. 

The researchers used AI to study changes in the DNA of prostate cancer samples (using whole genome sequencing) from 159 patients. 

They identified two distinct cancer groups among these patients using an AI technique called neural networks. These two groups were confirmed by using two other mathematical approaches applied to different aspects of the data. This finding was validated in other independent datasets from Canada and Australia. 

They went on to integrate all the information to generate an evolutionary tree showing how the two subtypes of prostate cancer develop, ultimately converging into two distinct disease types termed ‘evotypes’. 

of Swagֱ�� Cancer Research Centre, who led the study, explained: “This realisation is what enables us to distinguish the disease types. This hasn’t been done before because it’s more complicated than HER2+ in breast cancer, for instance. 

"This understanding is pivotal as it allows us to classify tumours based on their evolutionary trajectory rather than solely on individual gene mutations or expression patterns." 

Researcher Prof Colin Cooper, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, highlighted that while prostate cancer is responsible for a large proportion of all male cancer deaths, it is more commonly a disease men die with rather than from. This means that unnecessary treatment can often be avoided, sparing men from side-effects such as incontinence and impotence. 

He added: “This study is really important because until now, we thought that prostate cancer was just one type of disease. But it is only now, with advancements in artificial intelligence, that we have been able to show that there are actually two different subtypes at play. 

“We hope that the findings will not only save lives through better diagnosis and tailored treatments in the future, but they may help researchers working in other cancer fields better understand other types of cancer too.” 

Dr Naomi Elster, Director of Research at Prostate Cancer Research, said: “We simply don’t know enough about what a prostate cancer diagnosis means at present – there are many men who have disease which is or may become aggressive and being able to treat aggressive disease more effectively is critical. But on the other side of the coin are the too many men who live with side effects of cancer treatment they may never have needed. 

“These results could be the beginning of us being able to take the same ‘divide and conquer’ approach to prostate cancer that has worked in other diseases, such as breast cancer.” 

Professor Ros Eeles, Professor of Oncogenetics at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and Honorary Consultant in Clinical Oncology and Cancer Genetics at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This study has utilised the enormous genomic dataset from The Pan Prostate Cancer Group – a powerhouse of information about prostate cancer from around the world. These results will hopefully lead to better treatments for patients, demonstrating the importance of data sharing and team science.”

The study - ‘’ is published online in the journal Cell Genomics.

Backed by a £4.2 million funding award from UK Research and Innovation’s building a secure and resilient world strategic theme, the University team will drive a Research and Coordination Hub in confronting pressing risks and threats both online and in the world around us.  

Led by Dr Richard Kirkham, Deputy Director of the  at Swagֱ��, the project known as (Secure And ResiLIENT), will bring Swagֱ�� academics together with partners from the universities of Bath, Exeter and Sussex, to catalyse, convene and conduct research and innovation in support of the UK's national security and resilience. 

will drive interdisciplinary research to tackle some of the UK's most challenging security problems. Their focus will be on robust and secure supply chains, global order in a time of change, technologies used for security and defence, behavioural and cultural resilience, and strengthening resilience in our natural and built environments.  

This ambitious five-year investment, following a highly competitive selection process, will enable the SALIENT team to build strong connections across a broad group of stakeholders in central and local government, the devolved administrations and crucially, the public.

Dr Kirkham continued: “Our approach will promote a culture of genuine interdisciplinarity, co-production and citizen engagement, ensuring that the research we do is relevant, timely and represents value for money.” 

Duncan Shaw, Professor of Operational Research and Critical Systems at Swagֱ��, added: “Enhancing the resilience of systems and society is an epic ambition, one that has challenged the UK for years. SALIENT amasses an impressive multidisciplinary team that we will expand with policy and practice subject matter experts. Together we will pursue an exciting endeavour to make a real difference to resilience at home and create transferable lessons of global significance.” 

This marks the initial phase of ID Swagֱ��’s ambitious plan to transform the University’s former North Campus into a welcoming and accessible new £1.7bn innovation district.  

The new vision for the Renold Building will celebrate its history as an educational hub by hosting the next wave of science and technology innovators and building an inclusive, purpose-driven community. The building will provide a range of coworking, office and meeting facilities to accommodate and support collaboration between researchers, entrepreneurs, businesses and partner organisations.  

New events and exhibition spaces, including lecture theatres and a community café, will be accessible to local businesses, community groups and arts and culture organisations to host and participate in events and activities. 

An application to convert the building from educational to commercial use has been submitted to Swagֱ�� City Council by joint venture partners Swagֱ�� and Bruntwood SciTech. Pending application approval, the building is set to open in late 2024.  

Built in 1962, the Renold Building was the first of its kind in the UK to be entirely comprised of lecture theatres and seminar rooms. It is a building of note for many due to its striking features, including the faceted facade and stair tower, and the impressive internal mural on the lower ground floor. The redevelopment will retain and protect these elements as part of the application, as well as being sympathetic to the building’s exterior facades. Design interventions in the building’s interior will also be light touch, preserving the current condition as far as practically possible. This will allow for further conservation and restoration to be undertaken at a later date, ensuring the building will remain viable for future generations. 

Bradley Topps, Chief Commercial Officer for Bruntwood SciTech and Project Director for ID Swagֱ��, said: “The transformation of the Renold Building into an innovation hub marks an important first step in the development of the trailblazing science and technology ecosystem we’re building at ID Swagֱ��. We recognise the importance of the Renold Building to many in the local community and beyond, and we are committed to reactivating the building in a way that celebrates the rich heritage and architecture of the building. We’revery excited to be creating a new home for the next generation of Swagֱ�� innovators.” 

John Holden, Associate Vice-President, Swagֱ�� and Executive Committee Member for ID Swagֱ��, said: ”The Renold Building will be an invaluable place to bring together like-minded organisations and partners to collaborate, develop and test new ideas. We’re building our innovation ecosystem from the ground up and the Renold Building will be a place that not only accelerates the growth of our city’s most promising entrepreneurs, SMEs and university spin-outs, but also provides the spaces and opportunities to allow our local communities to participate, experience and benefit from innovation too.”  

The expertise and experience of ID Swagֱ��’s respective partners will be instrumental to the creation of its innovation ecosystem. Bruntwood SciTech, a joint venture between Bruntwood, Legal & General and Greater Swagֱ�� Pension Fund, is the largest dedicated property platform serving the UK’s innovation economy and brings its expertise in developing partnerships across academia, local authorities, cities and the NHS. This year marks Swagֱ��’s bicentenary, celebrating 200 years of key discoveries, world firsts and incredible people, and ID Swagֱ�� will build on this storied history of learning, innovation and research.

The EPSRC AI Hub for Causality in Healthcare AI with Real Data (CHAI) will develop new ways of unearthing important links in complex health data.

The hub will develop ways to use AI to enable the early prediction of debilitating diseases thanks to the £12m funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

It is part of the nine centres announced as part of EPSRC’s £80m UK-wide investment in applying AI to real world data and research.

CHAI aims to develop AI that can empower decision making tools to improve challenging tasks such as the early prediction, diagnosis and prevention of disease, and – crucially – to improve the safety of such technology in healthcare.

Researchers hope to apply this new technology to tackle key societal health challenges such as understanding infection, Alzheimer’s, improving cancer treatments, social care, diabetes, and rehabilitation.

CHAI will be led by The University of Edinburgh’s Professor Sotirios Tsaftaris, Canon Medical/RAEng Chair in Healthcare AI.

Professor Tsaftaris said: “I'm delighted that the University of Edinburgh will be leading this world-leading consortium to develop next generation Causal AI. Causal AI holds tremendous promise for creating a new generation of AI solutions that are more robust, fair, safe, and transparent. Causal AI offers a step change in what AI can do for health with the proper safeguards. To fulfil this vision CHAI brings together an incredible team from across the UK (Imperial, Swagֱ��, UCL, Exeter, KCL), several affiliated researchers and domain experts, as well as more than 50 world-leading partner organisations to work together to co-create solutions thoroughly integrating ethical and societal aspects.

“I am extremely excited to lead this hub, particularly because of the strong people focus ensuring that we prepare the next generation of researchers in such cutting-edge AI methods.”

, who directs the University of Swagֱ�� part of the hub said: “I am so excited to be a part of the new CHAI hub. The focus on causality aligns with key strengths at the University, and ensures that we can build AI for healthcare that is robust, fair, and directly applicable to decision support. This is a genuine opportunity for us to transform the role of AI in health.”

Though methotrexate is the first-line drug to be given for Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), it is only effective or tolerated in half of the children and young people who receive it.

Those patients not helped by the drug have to wait longer to receive second line therapies, potentially prolonging the severe joint pain and other symptoms which often have a devastating impact on children and their families.

The study, published in the journal eBioMedicine, could facilitate more precise research into the identification of response predictors to methotrexate, such as biomarkers, and lead to better forecasting of likely outcomes following drug initiation.

It confirms that one in eight children and young people starting methotrexate will demonstrate improvements in inflammatory features of disease yet have some symptoms.

They also showed that in 16 per cent of children taking methotrexate, improvements in disease activity could be slower than in others over time.

Lead author said: “Giving methotrexate to children who it will not help wastes time, money and effort for healthcare services-  as well as unnecessarily exposing them to potential side effects.

“But now machine learning has opened the door made it  possible to predicting which aspects of a child’s disease would be helped by the drug and so which children should start other therapies either alongside or instead of methotrexate straight away.

“In addition, this work shows how clinical trials are missing the mark in only looking at drug ‘response’ or ‘non-response’ for childhood-onset arthritis.

“This oversimplification could lead to a drug being labelled as ‘effective’ when key symptoms such as pain remain, or ‘ineffective’ where a significant improvement is seen in one aspect of this complex disease.”

The research is funded by the Medical Research Council, Versus Arthritis, Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity, Olivia’s Vision, and the National Institute for Health Research as part of the CLUSTER consortium.

The research team accessed data from four nationwide cohorts of children and young people who began their treatment before January 2018.

Juvenile arthritis disease activity score components (including how many swollen joints, a doctor’s perception of disease, a patient/parent report of wellbeing, results of a blood test for inflammation) were recorded at the start of treatment  and over the following year.

They used machine learning identify clusters of patients with distinct disease patterns following methotrexate treatment, predict clusters; and compare clusters to existing treatment response measures.

From 657 children and young people verified in 1241 patients they identified Fast improvers (11%), Slow Improvers (16%), Improve-Relapse (7%), Persistent Disease (44%).

Two other clusters they called Persistent physician global assessment (8%) and Persistent parental global assessment  (13%), were characterised by improvement in all activity score features except one.

Dr Shoop-Worrall added: “The longer-term impact of this slower disease control needs further investigation. Our study also demonstrates the utility of machine learning methods to uncover clusters of children as a basis for stratified treatment decisions.

“This work builds on existing studies of methotrexate treatment response, confirming that response is not bivariate but can be highly variable across different features of disease within individuals.

“At the moment trials of methotrexate in JIA categorise patients into responders and non-responders.

“That misclassification can compromise studies looking to identify predictors of response, such as biomarkers.”

• The paper Towards Stratified Treatment of JIA: Machine Learning Identifies Subtypes in Response to Methotrexate from Four UK Cohorts is available
• Image shows open bottle of methotrexate drug—one of the first chemotherapeutic drugs used in the early 1950s (released by the National Cancer Institute in the US,  part of the National Institutes of Health)

He also toured the site of , a joint venture between the University and Bruntwood SciTech, which will transform the North campus into an innovative £1.7 billion tech and science location.

Mr Kane, the Member of Parliament for Wythenshawe and Sale East, was briefed by Professor Alice Larkin and Dr Simon Bullock whose research sets out immediate actions required to cut shipping emissions by 34% to stay on course to achieve the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global heating to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels.

The discussions took place following Mr Kane’s comments in the House of Commons last month in which he expressed concerns that the Government is yet to publish a refreshed Clean Maritime Plan to drive down UK shipping emissions.

Following a meeting with , the University’s Vice President for Civic Engagement, the Shadow Minister was shown around the nine-acre ID Swagֱ�� site and updated on the latest project plans by Tanya Graham, Head of Policy@Swagֱ��, alongside Brad Topps, Chief Commercial Officer, and Sam Darby, Development Director, of Bruntwood SciTech.

The initiative is set to create over 10,000 new jobs and bring significant economic, social and environmental benefits to the city including more than 2 million square feet of commercial and retail space, and over 1,500 homes.

Professor Richard Jones said: “It was a pleasure to brief Mike on the numerous exciting initiatives Swagֱ�� is currently involved in, and to hear his perspectives on the direction of public policy across a broad range of topics.

“Our ongoing research on shipping emissions is directly relevant to his brief as Shadow Minister for Aviation and Maritime and will inform debates nationally and internationally as policymakers strive to meet the 1.5°C Paris Agreement limit.

“We are also proud and excited to be working in partnership with Bruntwood SciTech to deliver ID Swagֱ��, a place where offices, laboratories and creative studios will stand shoulder to shoulder with a world-class university to drive positive economic, social and environmental change.”

Mike Kane MP said: “I am grateful to Policy@Swagֱ�� for arranging such a fascinating visit.

“As a Swagֱ�� MP, I take great pride in the quality of research and teaching happening here. The work on shipping emissions, led by Professor Larkin and Dr Bullock, is of especially high quality and it was useful for me to drill down into their findings in my meeting with them.

“ID Swagֱ�� will have a transformative impact across the city region and far beyond, making a positive difference to the lives of entrepreneurs, students, professionals and families.

“Life continues to tough for many as the cost of living crisis endures, but better times for the people of Swagֱ�� lie ahead.”  

was launched in 2021 and is part of an ambitious plan set out in the Greater Swagֱ�� (GM) Local Industrial Strategy to boost the city-region’s provision and capabilities.

Speaking at the event, President and Vice-Chancellor Nancy Rothwell said: “The establishment of this Institute’s flagship building is emblematic of our commitment to harness the power of technology and innovation to enhance the well-being of individuals and communities. It embodies our dedication to advancing healthcare solutions, fostering breakthroughs in technological research, and helping improve the overall quality of life for people across the spectrum of health and care needs.”

The building is at the centre of the University’s campus on the Oxford Road Corridor. This location and partnership will provide support for business growth by facilitating better collaboration between the NHS, researchers, and industry.

Mayor of Greater Swagֱ��, Andy Burnham, was in attendance to celebrate the Institute’s opening. He said: “The Christabel Pankhurst Institute supports world-leading and truly unique research and innovation, and it deserves an equally remarkable home. This fantastic new building is a welcome addition to the Oxford Road Corridor and will support the growth of the Institute for years to come, further cementing Greater Swagֱ��’s reputation as a hub for health innovation.”

This event also marked the launch of the Pankhurst Institute’s gallery, which is positioned on the ground floor of the building. The gallery provides a brief history of history of Dover Street and the surrounding area (with notable residents including the Pankhurst family, Friedrich Engels and writer Elizabeth Gaskell); as well as the journey of the building design and build including a design with sustainability and collaboration at its heart.

Also attending the event was Professor Helen Pankhurst CBE: Women's rights activist, scholar, writer and CARE International's senior advisor working in the UK and Ethiopia. Helen, the Great-granddaughter of Emmeline, granddaughter of Sylvia, and great-niece of Christabel Pankhurst, said: “I was honoured to officially unveil the plaque commemorating my great-aunt Christabel Pankhurst’s life and works, for whom the institute is named. The link between Swagֱ�� and the Pankhurst family is a strong one and it’s great to see it continue over time.”

, Director of the Pankhurst Institute, said: “Our vision for the Christabel Pankhurst Institute is to make Greater Swagֱ�� one of the world's most vibrant, well-connected, innovation-driven health tech ecosystems, ensuring that the many excellent capabilities in our university and other regional actors deliver in Greater Swagֱ��’s citizens, their health, wellbeing, and economy, more they can achieve working in silos.”

“Swagֱ�� is uniquely positioned to provide thought leadership given its strengths in healthcare technology research, an exceptional academic and students talent pool, and a thriving local ecosystem of partnerships. Our city and university have a rich history of pioneering breakthroughs in healthcare, and the Christabel Pankhurst Building will be a new beacon in this story of progress and innovation.”

The institute will play a critical role in pulling innovations through from basic research to market-ready products and services, which can then be accelerated into clinical use through Greater Swagֱ��’s integrated health and care system and established innovation pathways. To achieve this it will build on, integrate and enhance the already extensive support provided by its partners.

Pankhurst Institute founding partners are Swagֱ��, Bruntwood SciTech, Swagֱ�� University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), Health Innovation Swagֱ��, and Greater Swagֱ�� Combined Authority.

The purpose of the consortium will be to provide Sellafield Ltd with technical support as it delivers its long-term objectives of safely inspecting and decommissioning their facilities using remote technologies.

Sellafield Ltd have made considerable progress with the deployment of robots to address challenges on its site. However, there are many challenges that remain, many of which cannot be solved using currently available commercial technologies.

The academic consortium will be led by Professor Barry Lennox and Dr Simon Watson at Swagֱ�� and supported by groups at The University of Bristol, led by Professor Tom Scott, and The University of Oxford, led by Professor Nick Hawes. Sellafield Ltd’s engagement with the academic consortium will be led by its Robotics and Manufacturing Lead, Dr Melissa Willis.

Melissa Willis, Robotics and Manufacturing Research Lead at Sellafield Ltd, added: “We are excited by the opportunities that this consortium provides us with and are confident that their technical expertise will help us to deliver the benefits that robotics technology offers us on the Sellafield site.”

The consortium has considerable experience of working with Sellafield Ltd, having all been involved in the RAIN (Robotics and Artificial Intelligence for Nuclear) hub, and more recently Swagֱ�� has provided the academic leadership for the Robotics and AI Collaboration (RAICo) in Cumbria.

Experience of the consortium includes the design, development and deployment of mobile robots in a range of air, land and aquatic environments in the UK and overseas.

Working collaboratively with Sellafield Ltd, researchers at Swagֱ�� developed AVEXIS, which can be deployed into aquatic facilities with access ports as small as 150 mm and collect visual and radiometric data. The commercial version of AVEXIS was the first robot to be deployed into Sellafield’s Magnox Swarf Storage Silos and its use at Fukushima Daiichi has been explored.

The University of Oxford’s Robotics Institute (ORI) have developed a range of mapping and mission planning technologies that can be used by robots, such as Boston Dynamics’ Spot to autonomously monitor facilities and identify unexpected changes.

Using quadrotor and fixed wing vehicles, the University of Bristol have developed technology able to map radioactivity levels over large areas of land. The technology has been deployed successfully in the UK and overseas, with the image showing a radiation dose map generated over the Red Forest area of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukraine, with the orange/red areas showing regions of elevated gamma dose rates.

The centre, led Dr Mauricio A Álvarez, will train the next generation of AI researchers to develop AI methods designed to accelerate new scientific discoveries – specifically in the fields of astronomy, engineering biology and material science.

The University will be working in partnership with The University of Cambridge, and is one of 12 Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) in Artificial Intelligence (AI) based at 16 universities, announced by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) today (31 October).

The investment by UKRI aims to ensure that the UK continues to have the skills needed to seize the potential of the AI era, and to nurture the British tech talent that will push the AI revolution forwards. 

£117 million in total has been awarded to the 12 CDTs and builds on the previous UKRI investment of £100 million in 2018.

Doctoral students at Swagֱ�� will be provided with a foundation in Machine Learning and AI and an in-depth understanding of the implications of its application to solve real-world problems.

The programme will also cover the areas of responsible AI and equality, diversity and inclusion.

Dr Mauricio A Álvarez, Senior Lecturer in Machine Learning at Swagֱ��, said: "We are delighted to be awarded funding for this new AI CDT. Swagֱ�� is investing heavily in AI research and translation, and the CDT will complement other significant efforts in research through our AI Fundamentals Centre at the University and innovation via the Turing Innovation Catalyst. Our partnership with Cambridge will also enable us to educate experts capable of generalising and translating nationally to stimulate the development and adoption of AI technology in high-potential, lower AI-maturity sectors.

“Modern science depends on a variety of complex systems, both in terms of the facilities that we use and the processes that we model. AI has the potential to help us understand these systems better, as well as to make them more efficient.

“The AI methods we will develop will apply to a wide range of challenges in complex systems, from transport systems to sports teams. We are partnering with a diverse pool of industry collaborators to address these challenges jointly."

Dr Julia Handl, Professor in Decision Sciences at Swagֱ��, said: “This CDT is a fantastic opportunity to bring together researchers from a wide spectrum of disciplines, from across all three of Swagֱ��’s Faculties, to ensure we can develop innovative solutions that are appropriate to the complexity and uncertainty of real-world systems. The involvement of the Faculty of Humanities is crucial in ensuring such systems are effective and inclusive in supporting human decision makers, and in delivering the centre’s cross-cutting theme of increasing business productivity, supported by collaboration with the Productivity Institute, the Masood Enterprise Centre and a range of industry partners.”

UKRI Chief Executive, Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser, said: “The UK is in a strong position to harness the power of AI to transform many aspects of our lives for the better. Crucial to this endeavour is nurturing the talented people and teams we need to apply AI to a broad spectrum of challenges, from healthy aging to sustainable agriculture, ensuring its responsible and trustworthy adoption. UKRI is investing £117 million in Centres for Doctoral Training to develop the talented researchers and innovators we need for success.”

Dr Kedar Pandya, Executive Director, Cross-Council Programmes at UKRI, said: “This £117 million investment, will involve multiple business and institutional partners for the Centres of Doctoral Training. These include well-known brands such as IBM, Astra Zeneca, and Google, as well as small to medium sized enterprises that are innovating in the AI field. A further £110 million has been leveraged from all partners in the form of cash or in-kind contributions such as use of facilities, resources or expertise.”

The first cohort of UKRI AI CDT students will start in the 2024/2025 academic year, recruitment for which will begin shortly.

Viscount Camrose started his tour at Engineering Building A, home to the new international research centre CRADLE (Centre for Robotic Autonomy in Demanding and Long-lasting Environments), where he announced the countdown to the centre’s official opening in November.

The Minister was guided by Professor Barry Lennox, The University of Swagֱ��’s Centre for Robotics and AI Co-Director, where he learnt all about the interdisciplinary research going on in the centre, including a demonstration of a robot named Lyra, built to help transform nuclear infrastructure inspection.

Lyra was used to survey one of the radiologically contaminated ducts in Dounreay. It performed the equivalent of more than 400 air-fed suited entries into the site, equal to 2,250 man-hours. This capability reduced costs by an estimated £5m and it is predicted that similar surveys could save decommissioning costs by a further £500m in the future.

The Minister then took a tour of the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC), taking in its energy storage labs, printing lab facilities and construction materials testing facility, before making his way to ID Swagֱ�� and the location for the (TIC); a project which aims to link businesses to cutting-edge AI research and technologies to help enhance productivity.

John Holden, Associate Vice-President for Major Special Projects at Swagֱ��, said: “I was delighted to welcome the minister to Swagֱ�� and to show him the leading-edge research and development activity we are undertaking in areas critical to the UK’s future economic growth and prosperity, including our pioneering work in AI and robotics.

“Funding research and development in universities is critical to regional and national efforts to improve productivity across all industries, and the visit was an opportunity to highlight to the minister how we are accelerating the translation of our research base into industrial application through initiatives such as GEIC and the Turing Innovation Catalyst.

“The visit was also an opportunity to highlight the major opportunity that ID Swagֱ�� represents for the region and UK – our plan to transform eight hectares of the North Campus into a commercially-led innovation district will create a world-leading innovation ecosystem around the University and has the potential to create 10,000 high quality jobs in research and development intensive sectors linked to the University’s capabilities over the next 10-15 years.”

The Minister for AI and Intellectual Property, Viscount Camrose, added: “Greater Swagֱ�� has long been at the forefront of science and innovation in this country, from the first splitting of the atom to the invention of the first computer.

“By engaging closely with partners including Swagֱ��, businesses and local government, we can continue to grow our innovation economy across the country and level-up the UK.

“It was great to see first-hand some of the fantastic Government-backed research in Swagֱ��, such as the development of graphene applications at the GEIC, CRADLE’s cutting-edge innovations in robotics, as well as some of the projects underway through our £100m Innovation Accelerators programme such as the Turing Innovation Catalyst, the Centre for Digital Innovation and the Immersive Technologies Innovation Hub.”

The visit ended with a round-table discussion about the . Led by Innovate UK on behalf of the Department for Science, Innovation Technology (DSIT), the pilot programme is investing £100m in 26 transformative R&D projects to accelerate the growth of three high-potential innovation clusters – Greater Swagֱ��, Glasgow City Region and the West Midlands.

Leaders from three AI-related projects backed by the Innovation Accelerator – the Turing Innovation Catalyst, led by Swagֱ��, the Centre for Digital Innovation, led by Swagֱ�� Metropolitan University, and the MediaCity Immersive Technologies Innovation Hub, led by The Landing at MediaCityUK – attended the round-table. They were joined by Cllr Bev Craig, Leader of Swagֱ�� City Council and Greater Swagֱ�� lead for Economy, Business and International, and representatives from Greater Swagֱ�� Combined Authority (GMCA).

Participants discussed how to strengthen connections between these projects and maximise their value, and other national initiatives to support AI and related technologies.

Cllr Bev Craig, Leader of Swagֱ�� City Council and GMCA Lead for Economy and Business, said: “Today’s visit provided a fantastic opportunity for the minister to learn more about the groundbreaking research and innovation happening right here in Greater Swagֱ��, and particularly at Swagֱ��.

“In recent years we have grown a reputation as a leading digital city-region, with AI as an important emerging sub-sector. As the impact of AI on our economy and society continues to grow, Greater Swagֱ�� is well-placed, with the potential to go even further.

“We also held a productive discussion about Greater Swagֱ��’s Innovation Accelerator programme and its AI-related projects. Through the Innovation Accelerator we are piloting a new model of R&D decision making that empowers local leaders to harness innovation in support of regional economic growth.”

Local residents, businesses and stakeholders are being invited to review the plans online from today, Friday 14 July. Throughout the summer, the public will have the opportunity to ask questions and share feedback through online channels and in-person community consultation events run by the ID Swagֱ�� partnership, a joint venture between Swagֱ�� and Bruntwood SciTech.

The ID Swagֱ�� partnership will be popping up in the city centre over the summer and holding a community event at Brunswick Parish Church on Wednesday 6 September. More information on the project and consultation activities can be found on the , along with an online questionnaire to submit feedback.

The newly published draft SRF sets out the scale, ambition and opportunities that ID Swagֱ�� brings to the city and includes a series of place-based principles that will guide detailed plans for development and future planning applications, and ensure the vision for ID Swagֱ�� to be recognised as one of the world’s leading applied innovation districts is realised.

Illustrative images of what the district could look like are shared in the SRF, including a new civic square, a revitalised Vimto Park and the repurposing of key heritage assets such as the Sackville Street and Renold buildings.

The SRF also details ID Swagֱ��’s aim to build a diverse and inclusive community of innovators, and transform what was a purpose-built academic campus into a welcoming and accessible new area of the city. Through creative repurposing of existing buildings and spaces, such as the Pariser and Renold buildings, a “meanwhile” use strategy has been implemented to bring early activation to the site ahead of redevelopment, with a mix of commercial office, lab and makerspace premises, pop-up retail and leisure spaces, events and programmed activities focused on science, technology, arts, culture and innovation.

Once completed, ID Swagֱ�� will create over 10,000 new jobs and bring significant economic, social and environmental benefits to the city. Totaling over 4 million sq ft, the illustrative masterplan has the potential to accommodate over 2 million sq ft of commercial and retail space, and over 1,500 homes.

The draft SRF for ID Swagֱ�� was approved for public consultation by Swagֱ�� City Council’s Executive Committee on 28 June 2023. The public consultation will run from 14 July 2023 until 8 September 2023. Feedback and responses gathered through the ID Swagֱ�� and events will be reported to Swagֱ�� City Council as part of the consultation process. Responses to the consultation can also be made directly to Swagֱ�� City Council via its .

Project partners Swagֱ�� and Bruntwood SciTech, a 50:50 joint venture between Bruntwood and Legal & General, have produced the SRF in collaboration with a world-class design team and specialist consultants, including: Allies and Morrison, SLA, Stanhope, Deloitte, ARUP, Stephen Levrant Heritage Architecture, Useful Projects, Ekosgen and Arcadis.

Speaking on behalf of Bruntwood SciTech, Lou Cordwell OBE, ID Swagֱ�� Director said: “We’re very excited to share our proposed plans for ID Swagֱ�� and hear from the public on their ideas for this new district, particularly on how we can start to build a community through ID Swagֱ�� and bring early life to the site through our ‘meanwhile’ activity. As well as becoming a world leading tech and science location that helps to put Swagֱ�� on the global innovation map, we want to create an exemplar for inclusive innovation. Close collaboration with local residents and businesses will be integral to ensuring communities across Greater Swagֱ�� benefit from the future success of ID Swagֱ��.”

John Holden, Associate Vice-President for Major Special Projects, Swagֱ�� said: “This is a key milestone in delivering our vision for ID Swagֱ�� and we’re excited to share our plans with the public. ID Swagֱ�� will see the transformation of the University's North campus, breathing new life into the site with a renewed purpose to drive positive economic, social and environmental change through innovation. For over a century, the site has been a centre for science, teaching and innovation, and ID Swagֱ�� will build on that history. We look forward to engaging with the public and the University’s stakeholders to hear their views on how ID Swagֱ�� can benefit residents and businesses across Greater Swagֱ��.”

Bev Craig, Leader of Swagֱ�� City Council said: “Swagֱ�� remains a fast growing and constantly changing city that puts people at its heart. ID Swagֱ�� will add to the collective strength, innovation and learning that has ensured the wider Oxford Road Corridor is a place of global renown. This is an opportunity for our residents to input and help guide this development through the pre-planning stages and influence the birth of a new neighbourhood in our city centre. I would urge our residents and businesses to make their voices heard.”