Winning the Creative edge

News – Funding boost for arts and humanities research

News – Graduates take the stage for Edinburgh Festival Fringe

News – Understanding Scotland’s Creative Economy

Two arts research projects in Scotland are set to receive multi-million pound funding packages as part of an ambitious new development programme.

Led by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the Creative Industries Clusters Programme is investing £80m across the UK in eight new partnerships between universities and the creative industries. In Scotland further financial support will come from the Scottish Government through the Scottish Funding Council.

Dundee’s Abertay University will establish a research and development centre dedicated entirely to innovation in the city’s games industry. The cluster includes the universities of Dundee and St Andrews and games industry partners such as Microsoft, Sony, the BBC and Beano Studios. As well as rapid prototyping and the development of creative content the project – titled InGAME – will form new interdisciplinary working relationships and provide practical industry experience opportunities for students from all three universities.

In Edinburgh, an initiative aimed at further enhancing the city’s reputation as a world-class centre for the creative industries will bring together experts from the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Napier University, Creative Edinburgh and Codebase, the UK’s largest technology incubator. The team leading the project says that the funding award will help to create jobs, using data-driven technology to develop new products, services and visitor experiences. A key strand in the partnership will be a scheme to improve data literacy amongst arts bodies. The scheme will embrace 25 organisations including the Edinburgh International Festival and the BBC.

The Arts and Humanities Research Council has also announced that the universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow are to be amongst the ten UK universities that will partner with NESTA to establish the new UK Policy and Evidence Centre for the creative industries.

John Kemp, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Funding Council, said:

“This is fantastic news for the creative industries in Scotland. Today sees the first steps towards transformative projects which will strengthen the connections between Scotland’s world-leading university researchers and industry, driving new discoveries and new jobs.”