The AI Research Development Network (AI.RDN+) A joint project by the University of Leeds and Aston University has been awarded £3.4m by the Research England Development Fund to set up a network to assess publicly available artificial intelligence (AI) tools for PhD research. The AI Research Development Network (AI.RDN+) will bring together 20 universities from …
Dr Peter O’Brien, YU Executive Director The end of Yorkshire Universities’ (YU) 2024/25 year coincided with the anniversary of the Government’s first year in office. As we headed into summer, the breadth of complex challenges facing Ministers increased, and we saw a plethora of new policy initiatives and legislation, including the 2025 Spending Review, Industrial …
How Universities Can Help Drive Local and Regional Economies The Institute of Economic Development and AtkinsRéalis have today (Thursday 24 August) published a report on how universities can help drive local and regional economies. In line with government’s shift towards a place-based approach to growth, the report looks at the opportunities for universities as hubs of …
Steph Morris, YU Associate Consultant That was a message that came up repeatedly during panel sessions at Climb25 in Leeds earlier this month. Now, that might sound like the North doesn’t have a lot to offer scale-ups, but actually that is far from the case. Conversations at Climb25 were in fact very upbeat about the …
Yorkshire Universities (YU) is recruiting a new Associate to work with the YU Executive Team. The role is for a self-employed contractor to lead YU’s work on employment and skills, especially in the area of graduate labour markets and local and regional skills plans and strategies. The new Associate will also be expected to contribute …
This article was originally published by the Yorkshire Policy Engagement Research Network (Y-PERN). Major regional summit showcases innovative partnership model driving economic growth and social impact across Yorkshire and Humber The Yorkshire & Humber Policy Engagement and Research Network (Y-PERN) successfully hosted its 2025 conference at the University of Huddersfield, bringing together leading academics, policymakers, …
Kate Hainsworth, YU Associate Consultant Sunshine nourished ideas and partnerships at the UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF) 2025, hosted at Leeds dock on the banks of the River Aire. The three-day extravaganza welcomed over 16,000 delegates from national and local government, investors, developers, clients and the wider built environment to talk about …
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has confirmed that the Chancellor of the Exchequer will announce, at the Spending Review on Wednesday, a funding package for R&D worth £86 billion over the next five years. The investment will also feature a new £500 million Local Innovation Partnerships Fund (LPIF) earmarked for local leaders. Commenting …
The Government is working with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and with Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs), to develop a ‘regional innovation funding programme’ as part of the wider devolution arrangements published in the English Devolution White Paper in December 2024. More recently, the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) has indicated that a high-level …
Dr James Ransom James is an independent researcher and Honorary Senior Research Fellow at UCL Institute of Education. He was previously a Research Associate at Yorkshire Universities. More information on his work on universities and AI can be found on his website. My recent work has been helping universities to think about how they should respond to AI. …