News & views

18 July 2018

The space industry in the East Midlands will receive a significant boost thanks to a major new research collaboration

The University of Leicester, together with the Leicester & Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP) and the National Space Centre signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to formally mark the start of the collaborative links with the Centro Estero per l’Internazionalizzazione s.c.p.a. Piemonte, representing the Piemonte region in Italy.

The collaboration, which highlights the pioneering initiatives being created through Space Park Leicester, will allow for greater transfer of knowledge between the UK and Europe, providing enhanced mobility to leading experts from Leicestershire in the field of space research to work across both regions and share expertise.

Jane Cowley, Chair of LBV welcomes this news on behalf of LBV and states: “This is fantastic news for Leicester and a recognition of the talent and highly skilled workforce we have in our region which also boasts three world class universities and equally impressive colleges of Higher Education. We need to retain the talent that we nurture in our region and this is a step towards this.”

Space Park Leicester is an ambitious initiative to develop a global hub and collaborative community based on space and space-enabled technologies. Based in Leicester, adjacent to the National Space Centre, the Park’s first building is expected to be ready in 2020. It is part of the Loughborough and Leicester Science and Innovation Enterprise Zone. Space Park Leicester has been supported with an allocation of £12.88 million from the LLEP’s Local Growth Fund and £10 million from the University.

Piemonte is strategically positioned at the heart of the European development system, right at the crossroads of the main routes between the North-South, East-West. Italy is Europe’s 2nd largest manufacturer and Piemonte has strongly contributed to its success, demonstrating to be one of the manufacturing engines of Europe. It produces about 8% of Italy’s national wealth, and its production system has reached high levels of excellence and tertiary sector expansion. Piemonte is a promising and competitive business area. The region is as dynamic in industry as in services, with a skilled, flexible and versatile workforce, 436,043 companies, 200 private and public R&D centres, 7 Innovation Hubs and 4 Science & Technology Parks.