Small businesses across large areas of Wales are being offered support with tech research and development from experts at the University of South Wales (USW).
CEMET – the Centre of Excellence in Mobile and Emerging Technologies, which is based at USW – has been successful in securing funding to run a project which will support start-ups, micro companies, SMEs, and social enterprises, through a bespoke six-to-eight-week fully-funded programme.
The funding for the programme has come from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), which CEMET has secured from a number of local authorities across Wales, including Neath Port Talbot, Swansea, Carmarthenshire, Powys, Caerphilly, and Vale of Glamorgan.
Clayton Jones, who is Programme Manager at CEMET, said: “We specialise in supporting businesses and the public sector with the creation and adoption of mobile and emerging technology through collaborative R&D projects.
“This programme will comprise of rapid prototyping culminating in the creation of a software or hardware system with which to test the market and secure further grant and investment opportunities.
“This will enable businesses to experience growth and offer higher-skilled employment opportunities in local areas, and can be used to explore emerging technologies such as Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and the Internet of Things (IoT).”
This project is funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. This aims to support the UK Government’s Levelling Up policy by focusing on three investment priorities, namely communities and place; supporting local business; and people and skills.
