During the last quarter of 2020 both Jon Lomas and I represented Lancaster University in a consortium led by Barclays Eagle Labs that also included Plexal and the University of Manchester. We were working with the consortium to compete for a tender to operate Heron House, a building in the centre of Manchester, across from Manchester Town Hall.

In March 2021, Manchester City Council selected our consortium to operate the new Manchester Digital Innovation and Security Hub (DISH), with Lancaster University as the lead academic partner.

DISH will be a place for collaboration between Manchester's business and entrepreneurial community, leading academics, public sector organisations and the voluntary sector to identify and develop innovative responses to digital and cyber security challenges.

The hub will offer co-working space as well as access to state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, allowing business residents to rapidly develop and test their products and services. The 11,000sq ft. hub will be located in Heron House, the same building as GCHQ and its National Cyber Security Centre.

Initially the Greater Manchester Cyber Foundry (GMCF) will use the DISH as a base from which to operate, however the opportunity to undertake activity reaches beyond the GMCF. Many colleagues across the Lancaster University campus work in areas aligned with digital innovation. For example, research and knowledge exchange in the School of Computing and Communications, Engineering, the Lancaster Environment Centre, Psychology as well as work undertaken in the Lancaster University Management School, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, the Data Science Institute and Security Lancaster.

The press release announcing the DISH was only released on the 23^rd April, so the draft mobilisation plan developed by Barclays is at an early stage. The main drivers for establishing the DISH include increasing research and innovation as well as identifying and training new talent. These two broad areas are where colleagues across campus can contribute to and benefit from the DISH.

From my perspective this is currently a unique and inclusive opportunity for Lancaster University to have a significant presence in Manchester, work with world leading organisations such as Barclays, Plexal, University of Manchester and GCHQ, and also use the DISH as a platform to engage across Greater Manchester.

As the mobilisation of the facility proceeds, I will continue to provide updates, however if what you’ve read sounds interesting please don’t hesitate to make contact with either Jon Lomas or I.

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