HomeSector ReportsNorth East VisionAutumn 2007
Rekindling the spirit of enterprise
The University of Teesside is opening two new buildings this week to keep it – and the Tees Valley – ahead in digital developments. And it is not just students who will benefit. For the new Institute of Digital Innovation is very much part of the exciting DigitalCity initiative which supports new and growing businesses in digital media and technology
IT HAS been several years in the making, but at last the Institute of Digital Innovation – known by its IDI acronym – has arrived. Based within one of the University of Teesside’s new showpiece buildings on Woodlands Road, Middlesbrough, the IDI will occupy the four floors of the new £12m Phoenix Building which opened for business today.
The Institute is a key component of Middlesbrough’s DigitalCity project, according to University Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Cliff Hardcastle.
He says the IDI embodies a new kind of regeneration project that puts high-quality research alongside business to build a high-growth economic base.
And it’s a goal shared with key partners such as Middlesbrough Council, Tees Valley Unlimited and regional development agency, One NorthEast.
“It’s a partnership that puts the University at the heart of one of the most fertile digital and creative industry clusters in the UK and encourages the best postgraduate students to hone their professional and work-based skills on challenging projects with industry,” says Prof Hardcastle.
“The IDI means that talented young companies based on the University campus can thrive in a cutting-edge environment and established companies can work with our research teams to develop world-class digital technology products and recruit from our unique talent pool.”
Equally impressed is Regional Development Agency Chief Executive Alan Clarke, who says: “As a key partner and funder, One NorthEast is delighted to support the impressive and exciting Institute of Digital Innovation. It is an important contributor to the goals set out in the Regional Economic Strategy.
“The University of Teesside has gained a reputation as a major player in the digital sector, and this exciting project will ensure its academic excellence can be converted into business creation and growth, both of which are vital to the continued success of the Tees Valley and North-East England as a whole.”
Institute director Dr Jim TerKeurst says the IDI has been deliberately designed to create a stimulating environment to help the Tees Valley make a major contribution not just to the local, but also to the regional and national economy. “We want the IDI to take people beyond their comfort zones and to stimulate new ideas”, he says.
The IDI received generous financial support from One NorthEast and the European Regional Development Fund through Government Office North-East, who together have contributed over £5m towards the building.
The top floor will focus on supporting the digital industries. Companies seeking to develop or strengthen links with research and enterprise in the University can lease high-quality office units.
The second floor includes studio space for up to 32 DigitalCity Fellows, with specialist software provided in flexible labs. Postgraduate studios will also be based on this floor.
The first floor will have specialist facilities for research groups and the ground floor houses the DigitalCity offices and a specialist sound stage, conference room and innovation room for future foresight and strategic thinking by companies.
Dr TerKeurst believes the IDI and DigitalCity project will demonstrate the potential for innovation in the Tees Valley and the wider region.
“We aim to rekindle the spirit of enterprise that made Middlesbrough such a powerhouse for innovation in the industrial revolution of the 19th and early 20th centuries; harnessing this potential for innovation again, and gearing it towards the needs and demands of the 21st century,” he said.
Among those warmly welcoming the IDI are key figures involved with regional regeneration in the Tees Valley, such as Mark Elliott, DigitalCity Business Director. He is leading the BoHo economic regeneration project, Middlesbrough Council’s contribution to DigitalCity. Mark said: “I’m delighted to see the IDI forming such an integral part of the wider DigitalCity project, and I’m looking forward to further schemes and initiatives being developed in the coming months”.
And Jonathan Spruce, Senior Assistant Director of the Tees Valley Joint Strategy Unit, speaking on behalf of Tees Valley Unlimited, said: “When we presented our business case to government last year we stressed that developing the University of Teesside was fundamental to our long-term aspirations for the Tees Valley. So the completion of the IDI as our first key project since making the City Region case cements the University’s place at the heart of the future of the Tees Valley.”
The IDI is one of two new developments on the University campus – the other being the £10m Athena Building, home to the Centre of Creative Technologies, which provides 4,000 square metres of studio space for teaching and learning across a range of areas of digital technology and media.
If you are a business wishing to explore the possibility of becoming a tenant of the IDI business floor, contact Neil Hannah, New Business Manager within the Department of Academic Enterprise, University of Teesside, Middlesbrough TS1 3BA. Email n.hannah@tees.ac.uk or telephone (01642) 384646.