A unique partnership helping grow the Welsh economy by turning
innovative ideas into reality using world class research
continues to go from strength to strength.
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 Endeavr initiative, which gives universities and SMEs the
opportunity to work with Airbus and develop innovative solutions
to complex problems, has drawn £1.6m 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, met with 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. "
