Project

Project summary:

Cardiff University, in partnership with Swansea University, is set to play a role in supporting an ecosystem of innovation in the region in a project aimed at accelerating UK economic growth and addressing regional needs.

£4.1 million has been awarded through the Place Based Impact Acceleration Account (PBIAA), funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), to address the shortage of skilled staff which is the biggest single factor limiting the growth of the South Wales semiconductor cluster.

This will:

• upskill staff in existing companies with high-level, specialist, practical skills
• train new entrants to the compound semiconductors workforce
• inspire a greater number of entrants to the workforce

The award provides research organisations with flexible funding enabling them to drive impacts from their research portfolio through a wide range of activities and to support the expansion or development of the cluster.

The project will bring short and long-term benefits to the  regional and local economies and communities including new jobs, skills development, private investment, growth of small and medium enterprises , and more. It also supports the government’s levelling up agenda creating an opportunity for academics and civic actors to collaborate and support the development of local industry and places