Lancaster University to lead £1.2m project to unlock cyber security potential across north west
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Led by Lancaster University, the new £1.2m project will see six partner universities capture the very latest cyber security innovations and partner with entrepreneurs, investors, government and businesses to transform cutting-edge knowledge into innovative new products, services and policy, to better protect consumers, businesses and UK infrastructure.
Funded by Research England’s Connecting Capability Fund, the new North West Cyber Security Connect for Commercialisation (NW CyberCom) project will involve the universities of Lancaster, Manchester, Salford, Liverpool, Manchester Metropolitan University, and the University of Central Lancashire. It will also be supported by Plexal, a Manchester-based innovation company helping businesses, startups and industry to collaborate with government to help deliver national security and prosperity; Massachusetts Institute of Technology and lead consultancy, CRSI.
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Hide AdNW CyberCom will draw on established partnerships with the National Cyber Force and GCHQ to develop an innovation ecosystem across the North West Cyber Corridor and provide bespoke training for university researchers focused on maximising commercialisation opportunities.
The ecosystem will act a platform for sustained cyber focused research commercialisation, bringing together industry, innovation, universities and investment to accelerate growth.
It will ensure the north west becomes the 'go to' place for companies looking for investment, investors looking to enhance their deal flow and businesses who need access to the latest technology and thinking in the cyber space through an ongoing pipeline of intellectual property emerging from academic research.
This funding announcement builds on growing momentum to strengthen the North West Cyber Corridor and, alongside the National Cyber Force’s relocation to Lancashire, further demonstrates the growing importance of the region as a powerhouse for national cyber security.
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Hide AdIt follows Lancaster University’s recent once-in-a-generation £19m investment into Security and Protection Science – an initiative that will see Lancaster recruit 33 new cross-disciplinary academics, plus 15 professor in practice roles and 10 support staff.
It also comes after Lancaster’s move to set up a new Digital Security Hub in Manchester with a consortium of leading cyber security specialists last year, to help foster innovation and growth in the region and wider UK’s digital and cyber security sectors with the ambition of supporting 500 new start-ups and creating more than 1,000 local jobs.