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Home > Key Sectors > Innovation

Innovation

Cardiff has a hub of knowledge-driven Universities, a pool of talent that boasts above average employment in knowledge intensive sectors, a growing R&D base, and a burgeoning innovation culture.

Cardiff’s offering as a global media node is supported by BT’s investment into the city’s broadband capacity and ICT infrastructure.

The latest innovative solution for business support spearheaded by Cardiff Council brought together companies from the Biosciences, technology and Creative Industries sectors to pitch for funds from a new fund  - Capital Cardiff - which has been developed to support new and existing businesses and offers support through a range of financial assistance schemes including loans, grants and potential equity investments.

A number of companies have already benefited from the fund including VCOR - a software development company and T-Box Solutions Ltd, who were given a loan to enable them to fit-out and install new equipment in their premises at the Business Technology Park.  Partner organisations who are supporting the Capital Cardiff Fund include UK Steel Enterprise Ltd, Finance Wales, Fusion and Xenos.

Cardiff’s Universities underpin the city’s activities in terms of spin-out and research.  The Universities have nine ‘Centres of Excellence’ recognised for technology and industrial collaboration that are also stimulating a thriving local enterprise culture particularly in knowledge intensive sectors such as ICT, Creative Industries and Biosciences.

Cardiff University spin-out Q-Chip is a leading developer of bioencapsulation based life science and therapeutic products: its breakthrough bioencapsulation production system enables the packaging and stabilisation of biological materials in micron scale polymer beads.

At the University of Glamorgan, research into sustainable sources of fuel has led to a hydrogen fuelled bus project, nominated for the Times Higher Education Awards 2008 for outstanding contribution to Innovation and Technology.  Developed by Jonathan Williams, the 16-passenger tribrid bus uses a hydrogen-powered fuel cell to generate electricity and charge special high-efficiency batteries that then feed into an electric-motor system.  Its only emissions are water. In the future, the bus will be refuelled at hydrogen “filling stations”; the university is building a demonstration facility.

Knowledge transfer is further supported by the Welsh Assembly Government’s new programme - A4B (Academic Expertise for Business) - a six year project funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and European Structural Funds, aimed at providing a simplified, integrated package of support for knowledge transfer from academia to business.

Together the Universities boast 50,000 undergraduate students and over 16,000 post-graduate students, as a result of this together with the high standard of local institutions, Cardiff’s labour pool is highly skilled delivering a stream of talent for the city’s employers.