Minister praises Midlands tech students as part of AI scholarship drive
A government minister has praised the achievements of artificial intelligence (AI) and data science students and graduates at two UK universities, following a national recruitment initiative to build a more diverse tech industry.
Visiting the city for Birmingham Tech Week, Minister for Tech and the Digital Economy Damian Collins met with MSc scholarship students and alumni from Birmingham City University (BCU) and University of Birmingham (UoB) at BCU 's new £70m state-of-the-art STEAMhouse innovation campus.
The Digital Minister highlighted the successful partnership between the government, BCU and UoB 's work to support students from underrepresented groups to study AI and data science and join the UK 's world-leading AI industry.
Earlier this year, the government announced up to £17 million in funding to create up to 2,000 additional AI scholarships for students from low socio-economic backgrounds, as well as women, black students and disabled students to improve the diversity of this growing and innovative sector.
The visit coincides with the release of new research commissioned by the government which shows the West Midlands is one of the UK 's fastest growing tech sectors - valued at £15.3 billion, up from £11.5 billion in 2021.
The visit coincides with the release of new research commissioned by the government which shows the West Midlands is one of the UK 's fastest growing tech sectors - valued at £15.3 billion, up from £11.5 billion in 2021.
New data indicates that the region is reported to now have over 144,000 people employed in around 2,300 tech startups and scaleups across the West Midlands, with over 56,000 in Birmingham alone.
Digital Minister Damian Collins said: “Artificial Intelligence has immense power to boost economic growth and improve people 's lives.
"We want to see the whole country benefit from the revolutionary technology and these extremely talented graduates, who have successfully completed our government-funded courses, can play a central role putting the UK at the forefront of this exciting field."
Professor Julian Beer said: “We are delighted to see expertise from our School of Computing and Digital Technology and STEAMhouse collaborating with industry, and to be able to showcase the impactful project work of our staff and scholarship students from our AI MSc course funded by OfS to the Minister and colleagues today.
“As the minister commented, we are a leading example of how bringing together startups, corporate, civic society, and academics results in real world impact.
“Today 's new government shows, the Midlands is now a leading player in global tech and digital innovation, with Birmingham City University firmly at the heart of it - educating and training the workforce of the future and transforming lives in the process. ”
Pictured: Damian Collins with Birmingham City University staff 13.10.2022