Leaders from national and regional government, industry, and higher education gathered at The Spine in Liverpool this week (18 November 2025) for the University of Liverpool’s annual Vice-Chancellor’s Conference.
Centred on the theme ‘University–Industry Collaboration for Growth’, the 2025 conference featured a keynote address by Alexandra Jones, Director General for Science, Innovation and Growth at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). Alexandra highlighted the pivotal role of collaboration between universities and industry in delivering the government’s growth ambitions.
In her address, Alex emphasised how crucial research and development innovation is for the future success of the economy. She highlighted the essential role of collaboration between businesses and universities, commending the Liverpool City Region for already exemplifying this approach. Alex concluded by stating that, without such collaboration, we cannot fully leverage our research strengths or turn outstanding ideas and innovations into real-world products, technologies, and applications that truly drive growth and make a meaningful impact.
Duncan Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of Northern Gritstone, the groundbreaking investment and venture building company with which the University has a multi-year partnership agreement, also gave a keynote address. Duncan shared insights on how their investments and collaborations with leading universities are helping to accelerate the Northern tech ecosystem.
Duncan said: “We have an abundance of world-class research here in the UK. The real value lies in the knowledge and ability to turn that into solutions that customers want to buy. The University of Liverpool is well placed to deliver on that, with a strong enterprise team and a vision that looks beyond Liverpool City Region to the Northern Arc. While £1.2 billion was invested by venture capital firms in science and tech spinouts in 2019, only £28 million reached the North of England. When Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds combine forces, the gravitational pull makes the whole greater than the sum of its parts – a small step locally, but a powerful force internationally.”
The day also included two panel sessions which looked at university-industry collaboration as a driver for growth and the opportunities this poses for the Liverpool City Region and beyond. Panellists included:
- Katherine Fairclough, Chief Executive, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
- Patrick Gormley, Senior Vice President and Data Science & AI Consulting Lead, Kyndryl
- Dr Jon Hague, Head of Clean Future Science and Technology, Unilever Homecare
- Lisa Layzell, CEO and co-founder, Robotiz3d
- University leaders such as Professor Anthony Hollander, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research & Impact, and Professor Rasmita Raval, Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Surface Science Research Centre.
Professor Tim Jones, Vice-Chancellor said: “Strong university-industry collaboration has a crucial role to play in driving innovation, unlocking new opportunities for growth and in meeting public need. This one-day conference brought together a curated audience of industry, university and civic leaders to really set the agenda in this space, discussing the barriers and opportunities to turbo-charging the UK research and development eco-system and the power of collaborating across the North of England to maximise innovation and growth.”
The VC’s conference also marked the launch of the University’s first Research Partnerships Report, showcasing how the University works with industry, government and the third sector to drive innovation and real-world impact. Read the full report and find out how you can benefit from working in partnership with the University here.
During the conference, Professor Jones unveiled plans to establish UK’s flagship AI-driven materials discovery centre. The new £100 million AI Materials Hub for Innovation (AIM-HI) will be a flagship national facility, dedicated to accelerating the application of artificial intelligence in materials chemistry. Read more about AIM-HI here.