University and NHS trust launch healthcare innovation collaboration
The University of Huddersfield and its National Health Innovation Campus (NHIC) and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT) Innovation Pop Up have signed a partnership agreement.
This will help explore and share opportunities for innovation in health, wellbeing and technology.
It will enable businesses, researchers and clinicians to develop and implement healthcare solutions across West Yorkshire and beyond.
It is also intended to foster an exchange of knowledge and expertise across both organisations, creating pathways for progress in areas such as virtual and augmented reality, AI, diagnostics and imaging.
The partnership should offer expanded access to modern facilities and expertise, driving business investment and strengthening West Yorkshire’s innovation ecosystem.
The agreement is designed to enhance the development of the forthcoming Health Tech Innovation Hub in the Old Medical School at Leeds General Infirmary. This collaborative space will bring together industry, clinicians, and researchers to accelerate healthcare innovations.
In support of this collaboration, the partnership will provide access to shared working environments at LTHT’s Innovation Pop Up and hospitals, and NHIC’s Daphne Steele and Emily Siddon Buildings.
LTHT’s Innovation Pop Up supports testing and developing new healthcare technologies.
It connects health and wellbeing companies, therapeutic developers, and digital innovators with the NHS to drive patient care advancements. And it facilitates research, clinical trials, and pioneering healthcare solutions.
The Daphne Steele Building, the first of several planned as part of NHIC, opened in 2024 and the Emily Siddon Building, currently under construction, is scheduled to open by the end of 2025.
The latter will include a Health and Wellbeing Innovation Centre, which will host a business support programme for companies and entrepreneurs in the health and wellbeing sector, through the Huddersfield Health Innovation Partnership.
Innovation Pop Up members will gain access to NHIC’s resources, initially in the Daphne Steele Building and then later in the Emily Siddon Building’s advanced facilities such as 3D printing, simulated ward and theatre environments.
Professor Liz Towns-Andrews, regional and business lead for the National Health Innovation Campus and 3M Professor of Innovation, said: “NHIC is a transformative project for the people of the region that aims to improve health outcomes and lead innovation in healthcare for the North of England, the UK and internationally.
“It is rooted in the University of Huddersfield’s outstanding track-record in professional courses and pioneering research, and its wide network of partnerships with leading health and care organisations.”
Dr Richard Evans, head of business development & innovation at LTHT, said: “We are thrilled to sign this agreement with National Health Innovation Campus at the University of Huddersfield.
“We have shared experience of pioneering spaces like our ongoing development of the Old Medical School Innovation Hub at Leeds General Infirmary and the University of Huddersfield’s Daphne Steele Building, dedicated to advancing health and well-being.
“This collaboration represents a unique opportunity to share expertise, foster ground-breaking healthcare research, and make a lasting impact on the health and prosperity of the region and beyond.”
