Hartree Centre and Coventry University explore development of new digital skills network

The Science and Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC) Hartree Centre and Coventry University are to explore opportunities to deliver a national Digital & AI Skills Network for the UK.

Kate Royse, Director of the Hartree Centre sits at a desk, signing a piece of paperwork and smiling into the camera.
artree Centre Director Kate Royse signs the collaboration agreement for the Digital and AI Skills Network.

The aim of the collaboration is to look further into establishing the level of current understanding and adoption of advanced digital technologies in order to identify and address regional and national upskilling needs. It will begin with a focus on the West Midlands and expand into further regions of the UK as new collaborators are established. 

By harnessing Hartree Centre and Coventry University expertise, state-of-the-art facilities and resources, the collaboration would work to create a knowledge sharing network that would provide support for organisations to upskill in key areas such as data science and artificial intelligence (AI). 

Training the next generation

The aim of the Digital and AI Skills Network would be to explore the development of a long-term regional skills and technology initiative. The aim is to build a network of collaborators dedicated to providing impactful support to public and private sector organisations in digital skills development.  

Informed by the Hartree Centre and Coventry University’s strong track record supporting UK businesses to learn about and adopt digital technologies, the intention is for UK organisations to have access to a range of training courses, webinars, workshops and events to help advance UK industry and equip the next generation of digital experts.

Paul Noon, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise & Innovation) alongside colleagues at Coventry University.

Bringing a hub to the West Midlands

The West Midlands has a digital sector that is growing rapidly and faces a number of challenges that affect the adoption of transformative digital technologies. 

The work with Coventry University would aim to develop a long-term regional skills and technology hub to support public and private sector organisations in a number of areas, such as: 

  • Machine Learning and AI 
  • Data science 
  • Visual computing 
  • Cloud and high performance computing 

A digital collaboration   

Professor Kate Royse, Director of the STFC Hartree Centre, said:

“It’s great to be starting this journey with Coventry University to look into creating a knowledge sharing network dedicated to upskilling UK industry and the public sector, starting with the West Midlands. As the UK’s only supercomputing centre dedicated to supporting industry, I believe strongly in our ability to collaborate with Coventry University to provide high quality training, add real value to UK organisations and help to address a national digital skills gap.”  

Professor Paul Noon, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise & Innovation) at Coventry University, said:

“Coventry University is excited to be exploring opportunities to work with the Hartree Centre on this timely project which aims to deliver Digital and AI Skills to create better futures for the West Midlands and wider UK workforce. This activity is intended to bring together the expertise of our colleges and research centres and our track record of skills delivery as exemplified by the Institute of Coding and the Electric Revolution Skills Hub.” 

Through the HNCDI programme and Coventry University’s existing work it is anticipated the network would have access to a range of standard training courses, webinars, workshops, and events that are run throughout the year to open up and exploit the potential of supercomputing, data analytics and AI technologies to new audiences, upskill UK industry and train the next generation of digital experts.

If you’d like to find out more about the Digital & AI Skills Network or want to get involved, the launch event will take place on 6 November 2024 at Coventry University. Book your place now!

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