Institute aims to boost tech skills

A new £5.5m national institute has been launched to ensure the UK has the technical capability and capacity across academia, research, education and innovation that will help it meet the Government’s goal of being a global superpower in science, engineering and the creative industries.

The UK Institute of Technical Skills and Strategy (ITSS) is funded by Research England, which is part of UK Research and Innova tion. It will be hosted by the University of Nottingham in partnership with a network of organisations and institutions across UK higher education and research.

It will form four hubs across research, policy, practice and engagement, making it the UK’s source of sector expertise on technical skills, roles and careers in UK higher education and research.

Dr Kelly Vere (pictured), director of technical strategy at the University of Nottingham, is spearheading the new initiative. She said: “We frequently discuss the emerging technologies needed to drive innovation, but rarely do we consider the expert technical skills, roles and careers required to use these technologies.”