University of Glasgow welcomes extension for UK Innovation Accelerator programme
Published: 3 April 2025
The pilot programme has invested £100m to date in high-potential innovation clusters across three UK regions and an additional £30m in funding will build on regional cluster strengths to drive economic growth and technological advancement.
The University of Glasgow has welcomed the announcement that the UK Government’s flagship Innovation Accelerator programme has been extended by £30m for the coming year.
The pilot programme has invested £100m to date in high-potential innovation clusters across three UK regions - Glasgow City Region, Greater Manchester and West Midlands – and this additional funding will build on regional cluster strengths to drive economic growth and technological advancement.
This new investment will build on the success of the pilot to date, and includes support for four innovative projects involving the University of Glasgow, across areas such as Digital Chemistry, Extended Reality, Critical Technologies and Financial Regulation.
The first two years of the Glasgow City Region’s Innovation Accelerator programme has achieved significant success - engaging over 250 companies and securing £47 million pounds of co-investment – helping to support the thriving innovation ecosystem being developed across the University of Glasgow and the wider City Region.
Six projects linked to the University of Glasgow were part of the programme which ran between 2023 and 2025. Four of the six original UofG projects will now receive further funding under the scheme.
Among the UofG-linked projects is the College of Arts & Humanities Museums in the Metaverse project which has been creating a ground-breaking two-sided Extended Reality (XR) Cultural Heritage platform that: empowers online visitors to explore cultural assets in new and engaging ways; enables cultural heritage professionals and non-specialist users to create new content; and explores models of use to support sustainable economic and cultural growth.
Science Minister, Lord Vallance, said: “The Innovation Accelerator programme is unlocking new opportunities for growth in regions across the UK and this £30m investment backs further collaboration between business, academia and government to build on local innovation that can improve lives across the country.”
Susan Aitken, Chair of the Glasgow City Region Cabinet and Leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “It’s exciting to see how the Innovation Accelerator programme has been the catalyst to driving locally led innovation, resulting in significant economic growth and technological advancement.”
Led by Innovate UK on behalf of UK Research and Innovation, the pilot Innovation Accelerators programme invested £100m in 26 transformative R&D projects between 2022-25 to accelerate the growth of the three high-potential innovation ecosystems across the UK, while piloting a new model of R&D decision-making that empowers local partnerships to harness innovation to drive regional economic growth, attract private investment, and develop future technologies.
Uzma Khan, Vice-Principal Economic Development and Innovation, University of Glasgow, said: “We are delighted that four of our projects will receive additional support under the Innovation Accelerator programme. From the metaverse to chemical robotics, our researchers are transforming industries and helping to cement Glasgow’s position as an innovation powerhouse.
“This investment not only recognises our research excellence at the University of Glasgow but also its potential to deliver real-world impact for our city region’s economy and communities.”
First published: 3 April 2025