The University has welcomed a new government backed report that confirms the UK digital economy is driven by southern England.
Professor Philippe De Wilde, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research and Innovation, said that the University has strengths in many areas supporting the digital economy that were identified in the audit.
He highlighted the role Kent plays in the field of Photonics, which manipulates light, using lasers and optical fibres, and has revolutionised areas like communications, medicine, aerospace and manufacturing. The University of Kent is particularly strong in medical applications of Photonics. This includes antennas for the next generation of digital communications, societal and psychological aspects of cyber security, and quantum materials.
Kent features in a report to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The new government sponsored Science and Innovation Audit (SIA) reveals that the south of England, grouped together as a consortium called Innovation South, is the backbone of the UK’s digital economy.
Innovation South covers eight counties across southern England with a total economic output of more than £225billion, accounting for 13.7% of the UK’s economic output.
The Innovation South area is at the forefront of advances in digital innovations across a wide range of industrial sectors that can transform and improve lives. They range from augmented reality devices which help train surgeons doing knee replacements to robotic submarines that are helping to combat global warming; from driverless shuttle buses to some of the fastest growing creative digital communities.
Carole Barron, Director of Innovation and Enterprise (KIE) at the University of Kent, was a Steering Group member of Innovation South.
