Director Dr Helen Turner reflects on the publication of the Invest in UK University R&D – Midlands Campaign Annual Report, exploring the emerging impacts and what they signal for the Midlands’ future on the global stage.
A little over a year ago, a collective of Midlands universities and regional partners took the bold step of launching the Invest in UK University R&D – Midlands Campaign; a pilot designed to raise the region’s global investment profile and attract international partners into our research and innovation ecosystem. We entered this work with conviction, but also with curiosity; if we worked together as a coalition of universities to leverage our international networks and reframe our collective offer, could we secure new investment and raise the profile of the Midlands globally?
The publication of the Campaign’s first Annual Report gives us a clear answer. It shows what becomes possible when universities act collectively with a shared purpose, and when the Midlands’ research excellence and innovation assets are presented not as isolated strengths, but as part of a cohesive and investable regional proposition.
A regional effort with global reach
Since becoming operational in October 2024, the Campaign has delivered an ambitious programme of international engagement. Supported by seventeen universities, it has taken the Midlands’ investment opportunities directly to investors across the US, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Germany, France and, most recently, Australia.
These outbound missions have been strengthened by a powerful coalition of partners to our universities: UK High Commissions and Embassies, UKRI, national government departments, regional economic bodies, Freeports, Combined Authorities and innovation‑driven businesses. Bringing these partners together has enabled the Midlands to articulate a unified regional offer, amplify our presence internationally, and position the region as a strategically important place for innovation‑led growth.
Alongside this activity, the Campaign introduced the UK’s first University Investment Concierge Service, giving investors a clear point of entry into our research, innovation and commercial ecosystems. Early feedback shows that it is already simplifying navigation, accelerating conversations and strengthening the routes into partnership.
Momentum that is already delivering results
The results published in the Annual Report demonstrate the breadth of activity and early evidence of impact. This is significant given that foreign direct investment projects can take many years to mature and convert into jobs or capital. Over the reporting period, the Campaign has:
- Engaged more than 4,500 investors, businesses and partners across 11 overseas missions and 15 UK activations.
- Developed a pipeline of 564 actively tracked R&D investment leads into frontier industries here in the Midlands.
- Supported 16 international companies to co‑locate on Midlands university campuses and science parks, creating an estimated 279 new jobs.
- Helped a Midlands spinout secure £400k in pre‑seed investment following a Campaign event.
- Supported Midlands Mindforge as it completed an initial funding round.
- Unlocked £1:£4 match‑funding across its missions programme.
A closer look at the opportunity pipeline shows clear areas of strength. Demand is particularly strong across digital innovation, health and life sciences, clean mobility and zero‑carbon technologies; sectors where Midlands universities already have deep expertise and globally recognised research capability.
It comes as no surprise that global investors are increasingly looking to the Midlands for opportunity. We are home to 30,000 researchers, Europe’s second largest Clinical Trials Unit and host six of the UK’s top 30 universities who have produced alumni who have founded more than 3,500 tech companies worldwide, collectively valued at $113.5 billion. What has changed since the Campaign’s inception is that these strengths are now being presented not as fragmented assets, but as part of a cohesive, investor‑ready ecosystem.
A strong foundation for the future
As the Campaign’s pilot phase draws to a close later this year, our collective focus remains the same; to grow investment into Midlands’ research and innovation, to create new commercial opportunities and to strengthen the region’s contribution to the UK’s innovation‑led growth.
While the next stage of the Campaign itself will be shaped in the months ahead, the momentum it has created will continue. Universities, regional partners and investors are now connected in new ways; pipelines have been established; and the Midlands’ presence in global markets is more visible and more coherent than ever before.
This progress will be brought together at the UK Global R&D Investment Summit to be held at the Royal Society in London. It will be a major gathering of global investors and industry and research leaders from across the UK. The Summit will provide a national platform to showcase the UK’s world‑leading R&D, with the Midlands set to play a central and influential role.
Although the pilot phase is ending, the coalition it has built, and the shift it has sparked in how universities position themselves as investment partners, will continue to shape the Midlands’ growth story well into the future.
