A partnership which gives universities and SMEs the opportunity to work with Airbus and develop innovative solutions to complex problems has received a funding extension.
The Airbus Endeavr Wales programme, which recently celebrated 15 years of success, is a joint venture between Welsh Government, Airbus Defence and Space, and Cardiff University – representing the university sector in Wales.
The initiative has drawn £1.6 million in funding from other sources in the last three years alone – more than the investment made by the Welsh Government and its partners.
It has now received a funding extension from Welsh Government and Airbus Defence and Space on a fifty-fifty basis.
One SME benefitting from the programme is cyber security start up Nisien, a spin out of Cardiff University who also lead the Wales Cyber Innovation Hub – a part funded Welsh Government programme to drive growth in the cyber security sector in the Cardiff Capital Region.
Nisien is working with Airbus on the detection of information that has been generated using AI, to accurately detect potential misinformation across online platforms in real time. Nisien has created 14 jobs this year.
Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, Rebecca Evans met the company recently.
She said:
“Nisien’s ground breaking work is exactly the sort of innovative solution we had in mind when we launched our Wales Innovates strategy.
“The Endeavr programme is acting as a catalyst to encourage cutting edge innovation from both academia and the SME community across the whole of Wales, embedding Airbus technology and capability within the Welsh business ecosystem.
“We may be a small nation, but by enabling collaboration between people, consortia and businesses to work towards shared goals, we can have a big presence and provide a valuable contribution to the overarching UK vision for innovation.”
Nisien CEO Lee Gainer said:
“The sector we are engaged in is crucial for the long-term growth of the Welsh economy. Endeavr's support has been instrumental in creating high-skilled jobs and has played a pivotal role in helping our business gain a foothold and attract equity investment. We look forward to advancing cutting-edge R&D into Gen-AI detection and transforming it into commercially successful products.”
Stephanie Eden, Head of Design Authority and Technical Governance, and Airbus Endeavr Executive Committee member, said:
“The Airbus Endeavr Wales Programme supports our engagement with SMEs and Academia across Wales. Over its 15 years, Endeavr has helped many innovative ideas become reality by funding early stage research to support Airbus Defence and Space to deliver its technology portfolio. I look forward to seeing how Endeavr will support innovation in Wales in the future. “
