South West England and South East Wales Science and Innovation Audit
Invitation to submit South West England and South East Wales Science and Innovation Audit (SWW-SIA)
The UK government invited a consortium of GW4 Alliance, University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), Plymouth University, key businesses and Local Enterprise Partnerships across the South West England and South East Wales region to participate in the first wave of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Science and Innovation Audit.
SWW-SIA provided a unique opportunity to bring these partners together to identify areas of world-leading research and innovation, including aerospace, microelectronics, energy generation, environmental technologies, and digital systems.
SWW-SIA found that the region can lead the UK and compete with the world in advanced engineering and digital innovation.
Advanced engineering
The region is home to the largest aerospace sector in the UK and pioneering automotive, nuclear and marine renewables and microelectronics industries.
Digital innovation
SWW is synonymous with digital innovation: home to the largest silicon design cluster outside of the USA; more climate expertise than any other area worldwide; global powerhouse microelectronics industry; a national exemplar for smart cities.
Conclusion of SWW-SIA
The conclusion of SWW-SIA is that better integration of scientific and industrial strengths in the region could be driven by a series of strategic investments in Advanced Engineering and Digital Innovation. In the immediate-term, SWW-SIA underlined the importance of new capabilities afforded by the Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult, and recommended fully funding the proposed Institute for Advanced Automotive Propulsion Systems (IAAPS), and Composites Excellence – with National Composites Materials Centre.
The full SWW-SIA Report, Executive Summary and Annexes can be found below.
SWW SIA Annex G Engineering Theme
SWW SIA Annex I Next Generation Microelectronics