Major report into future of digital communication urges urgent action

Wednesday 8 September 2010

The UK’s future economic prosperity relies, in part, on the ability of government, industry and universities to spark rapid growth in its Creative, Digital and Information Technology businesses, according to The Fuse a report published by the Council for Industry and Higher Education (CIHE) today (Wednesday 8 September).

The digital market is set to exceed $3 trillion revenue in the next four years, and entertainment and media $1.7 trillion. In the wake of this growth new industries have emerged that are simultaneously creative, digital and IT focused. With technology and content industries currently contributing £102 billion in gross value added to the economy and the Coalition Government’s first Comprehensive Spending Review just weeks away, The Fuse argues it is vital that the UK claims a leading position in this fiercely competitive, fast-paced global market.

The landmark report presents a series of urgent recommendations from CIHE’s Creative, Digital and Information Technology industries Task Force - a group of influential figures from industry and academia co-chaired by Rona Fairhead, Chairman and CEO of the Financial Times Group, and Professor Christopher Snowden, Vice Chancellor of the University of Surrey.

Its main findings are:

• Coalition Government and devolved administrations should acknowledge CDIT (creative, digital and IT industries) as a strategic priority alongside STEM
• CDIT employers challenged to work more closely with universities on graduate employability and design of courses
• ICT curriculum criticised for failing to teach fundamental computing principles

Professor Christopher Snowden said: “The CDIT industries already play a very important part in the economy, with the UK a leading contributor to this global industry. This report captures the dynamic and vibrant nature of the businesses and the important contribution of higher education both in terms of developing skills and contributing to the growth of this sector. Most importantly it identifies the support needed to build on the successes in the UK and extend the contribution of these industries to the economy, ensuring future prosperity and growth.”

The report’s editor Dr David Docherty, CEO of the CIHE and Chair of the Digital TV Group, said: “We believe that the UK has a window of opportunity in which to establish itself in the highly competitive, multi-trillion dollar CDIT market or be left trailing behind countries such as China, the US, Japan and Australia.

“We have to compete hard for our share of this revenue. To do this the UK Government must recognise CDIT industries as a national priority in the same way as it has science, engineering and manufacturing. UK universities and businesses, meanwhile, need to learn from and replicate the initiatives and innovation environments which brought the world Google, Amazon and Facebook.”

Dr Mike Short, Vice President, Research and Development, O2, added: “CDIT industries together should be the horizontal platform for growth and competitiveness for the UK in the 21st century.”

The Fuse calls on the Government and its agencies to acknowledge CDIT as a strategic priority alongside STEM and to discourage transactional business-university relationships which place a heavy emphasis on patents and spin-outs rather than nurturing start-ups. The report argues that CDIT start-ups could be helped by a review of current procurement policies and Research & Development tax credits. It points out that the world’s most successful innovation ‘ecosystem’ – Silicon Valley – benefitted at every stage of its development from government backing. Government intervention and public investment, it argues, are vital for leveraging private capital.

For their part, universities and funding bodies are urged to find better ways of working with graduate-rich small and medium-sized businesses in the CDIT industries and to prioritise technology-heavy CDIT programmes. By taking a more interdisciplinary approach and working more closely with business, universities can provide high-quality graduates with a range of work skills and the flexibility and knowledge to remain innovative throughout their careers.

The report does not exempt business from playing its part in developing graduates capable of leading the UK’s CDIT industries. It calls on employers to collaborate closely with the universities that supply them. It also proposes that industry bodies such as PACT for TV and TIGA for games should promote volunteer schemes through which professionals can work with students and help them develop the employability skills they need for the CDIT jobs market.

Finally, The Fuse suggests that the inadequate ICT curriculum in schools is partly responsible for holding back the growth of the UK’s CDIT industries. The current curriculum concentrates on word processing and office productivity tools but fails to educate students about the vital computing principles which underpin games and internet services. The report says that by supporting the integration of creative and digital elements in the curriculum, schools can provide a more effective pipeline of talent to Higher Education and employment.

Case studies

The report contains a number of case studies showing how some universities and CDIT employers are already collaborating to produce a new breed of innovative people capable of driving radical change in the digital economy. These include:

• The University of Surrey and the Guildford Cluster – this covers the development of the Cluster from the establishment of Surrey Research Park in the 1970s to 2007 when Electronic Arts (annual sales of $4.2 billion) chose to move its European HQ to Guildford

• The Highwire Doctoral Training Centre at Lancaster University – funded through the RCUK Digital Economy programme which supports the training of 50 PhD students over five years
• The Centre for Digital Entertainment – a collaboration between the University of Bath, Bournemouth University and partners from the computer animation, games and visual effects industries
• The University of Abertay Dundee and the games industry in Dundee – demonstrates how university-business relationships that are well-balanced and systematic can forge new industries and revitalise ailing towns and cities
• Wired Sussex – how Brighton’s Digital Media Cluster grew out of a collaboration between the faculty of art and design at the University of Brighton and Gatwick Airport
• Silicon South-West – how the M4 corridor from Swindon and Newport came to have the largest concentration of silicon designers anywhere in Europe and the University of Bristol’s vital role in this
• DigitalCity in Teeside – a ‘supercluster’ which has developed with the backing of the Institute of Digital Innovation at Teeside University and DigitalCity Business in Tees Valley. The project has been a cornerstone of regeneration in the North East

For more press information, interviews or for a copy of the report, please contact contact Anya Matthews or Scarlett Yianni, Colman Getty, 020 7631 2666 / 07815 634396 anya/scarlett@colmangetty.co.uk

Media enquiries: Howard Wheeler, Press Office at the University of Surrey, Tel: 01483 686141 or E-mail: h.wheeler@surrey.ac.uk

Notes for Editors

Dr David Docherty and Task Force member Dr Mike Short, Vice President of Research and Development at O2, will be available for interview. Please contact Colman Getty.

CIHE

The CIHE is a strategic leadership network of businesses and higher education executives promoting a system of higher learning that leads to greater market competitiveness and social well-being. www.cihe.co.uk

Creative, Digital and Information Technology Task Force members:

Mrs Rona Fairhead, Financial Times Group – Co-chair
Professor Chris Snowden, University of Surrey – Co-chair
Dr David Docherty, CIHE
Dr Mike Short, O2
Professor Elaine Thomas, University for the Creative Arts
Mr Nigel Carrington, University of the Arts London
Professor Adrian Hilton, University of Surrey
Professor Julian Crampton, University of Brighton
Professor David Frohlich, University of Surrey
Professor Bernard King, University of Abertay Dundee
Mr Alan Jenkins, Kaplan Open Learning
Mr Peter Phillips, Ofcom
Dr Bill Mitchell, BCS Chartered Institute for IT
Ms Anne Morrison, BBC
Professor David Howard, University of York
Professor Geoffrey Crossick, University of London
Mr Gavin Patterson, BT Retail, BT Group

Professor Christopher Snowden: Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Surrey, Guildford, UK and a distinguished engineer with wide experience of the international microwave and semiconductor industry. He is President of the Institute of Engineering and Technology for 2009-10. He is Vice-President of the Royal Academy of Engineering and Chairs the Academy’s Engineering Policy Group.

Professor Snowden is a Member of the Council of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the governing body of the UK’s Technology Strategy Board. He is a Member of the Board of Universities UK and Chairs the UUK Employability, Business and Industry Policy Committee. He is a member of the Council for Industry and Higher Education and the Defence Scientific Advisory Council. He was Chair of Higher Education Research Opportunities (HERO) Ltd from 2006-8.

He has been a Non-Executive of several technology companies and advises several others. He has previously held the posts of Chief Executive Officer at Filtronic plc; Head of School and personal Chair of Microwave Engineering in the School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at the University of Leeds; Senior Staff Scientist at M/A-COM Inc. in the USA, Lecturer at the University of York and Applications Engineer at Mullard Ltd.

Professor Snowden is a Fellow of the Royal Society (2005), Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (2000), Fellow of the IEEE (1996), a Fellow of the IET (1992) and a Fellow of the City and Guilds Institute (2005). He holds a number of awards from the Royal Academy of Engineering and the IEEE. He has published 8 books and over 300 technical papers.
David Docherty: seasoned Chair and Chief Executive of television and new media companies, with strong experience of the public sector as Chairman of the University of Bedfordshire, and as a member of the Board of Management of the BBC.
He is currently Chair of the Digital Television Group, which is an industry-wide body responsible for the UK digital TV industry, and CEO of the CIHE. He led the BBC’s launch into digital as its first Director of New Media and Deputy Director of TV.
In the commercial world, he headed up Telewest’s (now Virgin) drive into broadband content; was Chief Executive of YooMedia, the UK’s largest independent interactive TV business, and CEO of CSC Media, which owns the largest group on independent TV channels in the UK.
In the public sector, he was Chair of Governors of the University of Luton, where he worked with a new Vice Chancellor to create the highly successful University of Bedfordshire. David has served on government committees on various topics, including Digital Inclusion and Postgraduate Education.
Rona Fairhead: Rona has been Chief Executive of the Financial Times Group since June 2006. She sits on the Pearson Board and is also a member of the Pearson Management Committee. In March 2008 Rona also became responsible for Pearson VUE, Pearson’s vocational and professional certification business, and for building Pearson’s involvement in professional/ vocational education worldwide. Rona joined Pearson plc in October 2001, became a Pearson director in 2002 and served as Pearson Group’s CFO from June 2002.

Rona served as Chairman of Interactive Data Corporation's Board of Directors from September 2007 to July 2010. Rona is also a non-executive director of HSBC Holdings Plc and chairs the HSBC Audit Committee.

Before joining Pearson, Rona was Executive Vice President, Strategy and Group Financial Control and a member of the Executive Board at ICI plc, the international specialty chemicals and paints company. Prior to her six years at ICI, she was a senior executive in the aerospace industry, working for Bombardier/Shorts Aerospace and British Aerospace. In her early career she worked for Bain & Co and Morgan Stanley. Rona has a law degree from Cambridge University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Dr Mike Short: Vice President – Research and Development of O2. Mike’s career spans 36 years in Electronics and Telecommunications, with the last 23 years in Mobile Communications.

He is the current Chairman of the UK Government Trade and Investment ICT Sector advisory board and Board member of UK Child Council for Internet safety, as well as Deputy President of IET (from Oct 09). Mike chaired the Mobile Data Association 1998 - 2008, and is now Honorary President – MDA.

He was appointed VP Technology for O2 Group in 2000, prior to demerger from BT. Mike’s focus today is on Advanced mobile networks, Mobile data applications, Innovation for customers, and steering Telefónica Europe’s Group Research and Development in mobile. He has focussed for the last 3 years on ICT based applications in Health care, Assisted living, Intelligent Transport systems, smart cities and smart metering/grid, and supported the growing dialogue between innovation and public policy.

In the last 7 years Mike has also been appointed Visiting Professor at Surrey University, De Montfort, Leeds and Lancaster Universities, and to the Boards of Coventry University Board and Ravensbourne College. He was awarded an honorary Doctorate in 2008 in recognition of his contribution to the Mobile Communications industry.

The University of Surrey is one of the UK’s leading professional, scientific and technological universities with a world class research profile and a reputation for excellence in teaching and research. Ground-breaking research at the University is bringing direct benefit to all spheres of life – helping industry to maintain its competitive edge and creating improvements in the areas of health, medicine, space science, the environment, communications, defence and social policy. Programmes in science and technology have gained widespread recognition and it also boasts flourishing programmes in dance and music, social sciences, management and languages and law. In addition to the campus on 150 hectares just outside Guildford, Surrey, the University also owns and runs the Surrey Research Park, which provides facilities for 140 companies employing 2,700 staff.

The Sunday Times names Surrey as ‘The University for Jobs' which underlines the university’s growing reputation for providing high quality, relevant degrees.

Surrey is a member of the 1994 Group of 19 leading research-intensive universities. The Group was established in 1994 to promote excellence in university research and teaching. Each member undertakes diverse and high-quality research, while ensuring excellent levels of teaching and student experience.

www.1994group.ac.uk

Media Enquiries

Howard Wheeler, Press Office at the University of Surrey, Tel: +44 (0)1483 686141, or Email mediarelations@surrey.ac.uk