Innovation is the name of the game
Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns explains how Wales can capitalise on £7bn committed to boosting innovation
Every day, we benefit from the work of generations of British researchers and engineers. From penicillin and pencils to the jet engine and bungee-jumping, researchers and inventors provide inspiring stories of human achievement.
Contemporary UK research is just as inspiring. Indeed, we have seen Wales’ capacity for invention and reinvention create 21st-century success stories.
In south Wales we have moved from exporting coal to becoming pioneers in semiconductors, with many global leaders in wafer technology based here. IQE, for example, manufactures the tiny wafer cells that support half of the world’s mobile phones. And in north Wales we develop and manufacture the world’s most technologically advanced composite aircraft wings.
British and Welsh researchers and engineers have shaped today’s world – and we are determined that they continue to do so. The key to future success in global innovation will be the blending of individual ingenuity and ambition with UK Government investment.
One year on from the launch of the modern Industrial Strategy, our commitment to see UK research and technology flourish has never been greater.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) plays a central role in the Industrial Strategy, providing a single strong voice for researchers and innovators, working closely with academia, business and government to nuture and commercialise the most exciting ideas and opportunities. Launching in Wales today, UKRI will help deliver on the UK Government’s commitment to invest £7bn in public funding for science, research and innovation. It will aim to see investment in research and development reach 2.4% of GDP by 2027.
This investment demonstrates our confidence in UK researchers and innovators, and in UKRI’s potential to help translate a world-class knowledge base into world-beating businesses.
UKRI has 264 active research grants in Wales, worth over £187m. Agroceutical Products in Powys is just one firm that has benefited, using its grant to develop a process to produce sustainable Alzheimer’s medication from daffodils. And the collaboration between Swansea University and SPECIFIC is developing buildings capable of producing their own energy. The UK Government has invested over £150m in research funding at the university since 2010.
This is the modern Industrial Strategy in action, and is just one of many examples of how the higher education sector in Wales is now highly tuned to the needs of industry and business.
We are at one of the most exciting and challenging times in the history of global enterprise and innovation – and we want Wales to be in the vanguard. Yet we don’t always translate research excellence into commercial success. The so-called “valley of death” all too often prevents the progress of research to the point where it provides the basis of a successful business or product.
UKRI aims to help our innovators bridge that chasm. We now have the opportunity to capitalise on this new innovation powerhouse, and forge partnerships between the best minds in research and business, to put Wales and the UK at the forefront of the industries of the future.