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Forging Ahead

Supercharging the innovation ecosystem in the Midlands

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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 16 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.

What Forging Ahead delivers:

  • Regional collaboration – bringing together the regions universities and innovators to share expertise, align support and accelerate commercialisation.

  • Proven programmes at scale – Forging Ahead is scaling successful initiatives such as Medici, SPARK The Midlands, IP 2 SME and Venture Versity to turn research into investment-ready ventures.

  • Expanded spinout support – strengthening founder development, market validation and investment pathways.

  • A stronger regional innovation ecosystem – creating the conditions for more ideas to become commercial successes.

Why it Matters

The Midlands is home to exceptional research, advanced engineering, and globally significant industries. Forging Ahead helps ensure that more of the region’s ideas translate into impact: new companies, new technologies, new jobs and new opportunities for the UK economy.

Learn more

For detailed information on delivery strands, opportunities and upcoming activity, visit the Forging Ahead website.

You can also stay connected with updates and insights through the Forging Ahead LinkedIn page.

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 Nishan Canagarajah

President and Vice-Chancellor at University of Leicester

Midlands Innovation Board of Vice-Chancellors

Read our Case Studies

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