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Forging Ahead

Supercharging the innovation ecosystem in the Midlands

Forging Ahead is a bold £16 million initiative transforming how research and innovation are translated into real-world impact across the Midlands.

Backed by Research England’s Connecting Capabilities Fund and regional partners, the five-year programme is led by Loughborough University and coordinated by Midlands Innovation, bringing together 15 universities in one of the UK’s largest higher education collaborations.

The programme is designed to radically enhance the region’s commercialisation ecosystem – supercharging entrepreneurial activity, scaling innovation, and creating new pathways for academic ideas to become high-growth ventures. It will strengthen networks, build capacity, and support diverse talent to drive inclusive economic growth and ensure innovation benefits communities across the region.

Forging Ahead is:

  • Unlocking potential – Developing a pipeline of high-performing teams to launch and grow spinout businesses that thrive and stay in the Midlands.
  • Delivering impact – Scaling successful initiatives like Medici, SPARK The Midlands, ICURe, and Venture Versity to turn research into investment-ready ventures.
  • Advancing innovation – Supporting startups, spinouts, and tech transfer professionals across 15 universities to build a more connected, coordinated innovation ecosystem.

Find out more

If you’re interested in learning more about the programme, exploring key initiatives, or sharing ideas on how we can drive innovation and entrepreneurship, we’d love to hear from you.

Linked In: (99+) Forging Ahead: Posts | LinkedIn

Contact: forging.ahead@mailbox.lboro.ac.uk

We have one of the largest research communities in the UK with more than 14,500 academics who have a strong track record collaborating on innovative research ideas that turn spinouts into successful businesses. Midlands Mindforge will allow our universities to scale-up their research and enterprise activity. It is a catalyst for building ground-breaking businesses that help to boost economic growth, create highly-skilled jobs and support the UK’s bid to be a global science and technology superpower.”

Professor Trevor McMillan OBE

Vice-Chancellor at Keele University

Midlands Innovation Board of Vice-Chancellors

Read our Case Studies

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Engineers working in Structural Integrity Laboratory