A new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Aston University and property developer Bruntwood SciTech will support the university’s 2030 Strategy growth plan for the Birmingham Knowledge Quarter.

Leaders from Aston University and Bruntwood SciTech, a Joint Venture partnership between Bruntwood and Legal & General, formalised the MoU on Wednesday 15 March during the international property conference MIPIM.

The MoU includes a commitment to enhance Birmingham’s Knowledge Quarter through joint
developments focused on creating a world-class innovation district within the city. More specifically, Aston University and Bruntwood SciTech will establish a Joint Venture that supports the University’s development plans as it seeks to establish a leading science, technology and enterprise precinct with industry and businesses embedded on campus to drive socio-economic transformations in the city. 

The university’s 2030 Strategy document focuses on elevating ambition through sustainable growth, creating unique value propositions for its beneficiaries, leveraging place and space, building a digital enterprise, and transforming businesses and communities the higher education institution serves.

The partnership also builds on a pledge made by Executive Chair, Chris Oglesby, at last year’s Commonwealth Games to invest £1bn in the city over the next decade, and will draw on Bruntwood SciTech’s expertise of developing knowledge economies and stimulating investment in an £850m portfolio of 11 regional hubs across the UK. Bruntwood SciTech’s Innovation Birmingham campus sits immediately adjacent to Aston University and is already home to more than 150 businesses, serving as the West Midlands’ largest digital and tech cluster. 

We are committed together to creating an innovation hotspot on Aston campus within the Birmingham Knowledge Quarter that will drive the creation of new high value-added businesses and jobs, and provide our students, staff and partners with unique opportunities and experiences.

Professor Aleks Subic, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Aston University, says: “The new Aston University 2030 Strategy builds on our technology heritage that dates back to 1895, when the University was first established as the principal Birmingham Municipal Technical School placed at the heart of the first Industrial Revolution and the manufacturing powerhouse of the world.

“The strategic partnership with Bruntwood SciTech aims to realise our bold vision within a new digital era, by creating a leading innovation precinct of international significance centred on science, technology and enterprise. We are committed together to creating an innovation hotspot on Aston campus within the Birmingham Knowledge Quarter that will drive the creation of new high value-added businesses and jobs, and provide our students, staff and partners with unique opportunities and experiences.”

Rob Valentine, Bruntwood’s director for Birmingham who signed the MoU on behalf of Bruntwood SciTech, adds: “Having worked in close proximity with Aston University as part of our continued investment in Birmingham and the Knowledge Quarter, it’s clear we share the ambition for the city to be a thriving hub for UK R&D that drives innovation on an international scale.

“Our experience shows that, when combining the right facilities, academic knowledge and commercial incubation, innovation districts are able to play a leading role in facilitating the growth of regional cities and delivering against the levelling up agenda. This MoU solidifies our shared vision for Birmingham and we look forward to working with Aston University to help it realise its 2030 plan.”