A partnership between Cambridge University and the University of Manchester has been awarded £4.8 million to help bring innovation to market quicker.

The money, from Research England, is aimed at allowing each university to benefit from the strengths of the others’ location to support R&D.

Both  are strong in AI, life sciences and advanced materials but while Cambridge has strong investor networks, it experiences growth constraints due to its small scale, higher costs, and lack of development land.

Manchester provides scale, affordability for start-ups to grow, and despite its large talent pool, has a less mature investor support system.

The partnership will be led by Unit M and Innovate Cambridge, the universities’ respective innovation divisions and with support from the two Mayoral combined authorities, city councils, businesses and investors, the total budget will be around £6m.

Prof Deborah Prentice, University of Cambridge vice-chancellor, said: “This pioneering initiative brings together the combined strengths of Cambridge and Manchester to create something that is truly ground-breaking.

“By connecting our cities, we’re helping to build a more collaborative and dynamic environment in which innovative research can connect with industry, venture capital and entrepreneurs to drive economic growth and deliver real benefits for people and places across the UK.”

Science Minister and Oxford-Cambridge growth champion Lord Vallance said: “This pioneering partnership is proof that our ambitions for the Oxford-Cambridge Corridor can and will fire up economic growth across the length and breadth of the UK, which is critical to our Plan for Change.

“Cambridgeshire and Greater Manchester are forging a path I hope others will follow. Science is always stronger when we work together, and stronger research ties between the UK’s great regions will only lead to more investment, more opportunities, and more breakthroughs, from health to clean energy and beyond.”

© Eastern Echo (powered by ukpropertyforums.com).

Sign up to receive our weekly free journal, The Forum here.