University-led £4.9 million initiative to turbocharge North West England’s cyber ambitions

CyberFocus is one of seven new projects supported through £22 million of funding by the UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Place Based Impact Acceleration Account (PBIAA) scheme to strengthen emerging and existing research and innovation clusters to kickstart economic growth and address regional needs.

Developing trusted partnerships between academia, industry, and civic bodies, CyberFocus will strengthen and deliver strategic investments in the region’s cyber ‘ecosystem’. The North West has one of the largest clusters of cyber security businesses outside London with around 300 companies in the sector.

The region’s strength in cyber is also benefitting from the arrival of GCHQ in Manchester and the imminent arrival of the National Cyber Force in Lancashire.

The CyberFocus project brings together the Universities of Lancaster, Manchester, Salford, Central Lancashire, Cumbria, Manchester Metropolitan and Liverpool. It will also be supported by other partners including Team Barrow (Westmorland & Furness Council, and BAE Systems), Cumbria LEP (now Enterprising Cumbria), Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Liverpool City Regional Combined Authority and Lancashire County Council. 

CyberFocus will leverage the cyber expertise within the seven partner universities and other close partners that together form the North West Cyber Corridor stretching from Lancashire to Manchester and encompassing Cumbria, Merseyside and Cheshire. The programme will act as a catalyst for cyber knowledge exchange so that research ideas and innovations are transformed into solutions, products and services that will help protect people and businesses as well as drive economic growth.

Dr Lee Speakman, Lecturer in Cyber Security at the University of Salford, said: “At the University of Salford, we’re proud to play a pivotal role in the CyberFocus initiative, leveraging our expertise to drive innovation and build resilience in the North West’s cyber ecosystem. This project is a testament to the power of collaboration, uniting universities, industry and civic partners to tackle some of the most pressing challenges in cyber security today. Together, we are not only advancing cutting-edge research but also equipping the region with the skills, partnerships and solutions needed to thrive in an increasingly digital world.”

In addition to supporting the development of cutting-edge innovations, CyberFocus will support regional civic ambitions and drive prosperity and protection in the region by accelerating growth through securing further inward-investments in the region’s cyber sector.

CyberFocus will also draw on regional partners across key industrial sectors to forge research-led partnerships and address regional challenges to fuel job creation, economic growth, and improved cyber resilience. And partner Universities will be at the forefront of developing new cohorts of people equipped with the vital high-demand cyber skills required in the region.

The new project aims to:  

• create 85 new collaborative partnerships
• develop 400 new products, processes, or services
• secure £40m additional funding for the region
• train 300 individuals in cyber innovation skills

CyberFocus builds on the foundations of the North West Cyber Security Connect for Commercialisation project (CyberCom). CyberFocus, a Lancaster University-led collaborative university partnership programme, turns the latest cyber security innovations into innovative new products, services and policy.

EPSRC Executive Chair, Professor Charlotte Deane, said: “The seven projects announced today will harness regional research and innovation strengths to unleash the potential of emerging and existing innovation clusters across the UK.

“Our investment will strengthen partnerships between UK universities, civic bodies and local businesses to create new jobs, improve skills and boost regional economic growth that will benefit places and communities directly.”

UK Science Minister, Lord Vallance, said: “We are backing universities across the UK to home in on local strengths in research – from cybersecurity in Lancaster to maritime in Liverpool, offshore wind in Edinburgh to digital healthcare in Belfast – to support thousands of local jobs, boost skills and bring new technologies to market.

“This investment will allow innovators up and down the country to continue or expand their pioneering work to improve lives and kickstart growth in our economy with new opportunities.”