The Government has pledged to invest £60m into a regional innovation fund to support universities in areas with lower levels of research and development investment.
Speaking at the Conservative conference, technology secretary Michelle Donelan announced the fund alongside a commitment of £8m to go towards artificial intelligence (AI) scholarships.
Ms Donelan’s announcement followed the launch of two consultations that aim to improve broadband connections for 100,000 rural premises.
‘I am announcing that in the coming months we will be giving access to the very, very hard-to-reach rural homes and businesses to get state-of-the-art satellite broadband to unlock the potential in these rural areas,’ Ms Donelan told delegates.
‘And I’m also announcing a new £60m regional innovation fund – a cash injection that will be felt almost immediately.’
