Centre for Digital Innovation (CDI)

The CDI project is supporting SMEs in the region to develop their security capabilities and to prepare for a digital future.

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Centre for Digital Innovation

The Centre for Digital Innovation (CDI) is a supercluster of digital expertise and innovation. The fully funded programme is a partnership of universities, further education and industry partners making digital technology expertise and facilities available to businesses in the North West of England.

Find out more about the full project.

The CDI project covers four digital strands:

Artificial Intelligence | Cyber Security | Industrial Digitalisation | Immersive technology

The project is funded through the nationwide £100m Government Innovation Accelerator. The partnership between Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Salford, Lancaster University, the Greater Manchester Colleges Group, and industry partners will:

  • Provide access expert knowledge, research and facilities
  • Build on innovations to help businesses develop new products and technologies
  • Create new supply chains
  • Build collaborations
  • Up skill the region's workforce

The project is now in its second phase following on from the huge successes of the first which you can find out more about here - Take a Look at Phase 1 of CDI.

CDI Phase 1

Helping to prepare a digital future

Lancaster University is supporting SMEs in the region to develop their security capabilities and to prepare for a digital future. Providing expertise in artificial intelligence, cyber security, immersive technologies and industrial digitalisation, businesses will benefit from the knowledge, technical support and state of the art facilities at Lancaster University to deliver products, services and projects. Lancaster University will foster collaboration between academic researchers in the Security and Protection Sciences Institute and businesses to equip them with the tools, specialist expertise and opportunities to grow and realise their digital innovation ambitions. In addition to engaging with businesses, the University also supports students through paid internships to provide them with practical skills and experience as they embark on their careers.

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Upcoming Workshops

Cyber Resilience Workshops:

Through our Cyber Resilience workshops our mission is to empower businesses to embrace digital and cyber innovation, and help to drive tangible improvements in products, processes, services through innovative business strategies.

Implementing cyber resilience can help businesses to strengthen their defences and secure their operations against potential threats and grow their business with confidence.

Technical Projects

Lancaster aims to deliver 12 in depth technical projects focussing on AI, Cyber Security, Immersive Technology or Industrial Digitalisation.

Building on the relationships from the first phase of the project, Lancaster will deliver a number of high impact technical projects, aimed at boosting new product development for companies across the GM region. These projects take the form of 140-hour student internships running over a 12-week period and assist the companies in bringing new products and services to market.

KnowDigital Training Platform

Welcome to CDI's KnowDigital training platform. As part of the assistance provided by the CDI project to businesses, teams, and individuals a fully comprehensive digital skills learning platform can be accessed. Whether the aim is to advance careers, grow businesses, or empower teams KnowDigital offers a wealth of resources and expert guidance tailored to meet your needs.

KnowDigital Page

Meet the CDI Team

  • Professor Allan Rennie

    Allan Rennie, Professor in Manufacturing Engineering is the CDI academic lead at Lancaster University. His current research focusses on design for additive manufacturing, industrial digitalisation of manufacturing processes, tooling and manufacturing process development and optimisation. Allan also co-leads the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) Network.

  • Tom Abram

    Tom is Senior Project Engineer and specialises in additive manufacturing and industrial research and development. He manages technical delivery, mentors engineers, and advances tooling innovation through selective laser sintering.

  • James Darwin

    James supports collaborative research and enterprise in cybersecurity. He focuses on digital innovation, stakeholder engagement, and impactful knowledge exchange initiatives.

  • Jon Lomas

    Jon is the Cyber Security Partnership Development Manager at Lancaster and fosters cross-institutional collaboration to advance digital resilience, innovation, and research impact across academia, industry, and government sectors.

  • James Livsey

    James drives digital transformation and innovation through collaborative research, enterprise partnerships, and strategic leadership in cybersecurity and emerging technologies.

  • Sula Ross

    Sula is the Knowledge Exchange and Data Manager at Lancaster, supporting knowledge exchange and research impact through expert claims management, data coordination, and strategic engagement with external partners.

Working on CDI

We are delighted to contribute to the CDI project and showcase our extensive expertise to support SMEs to fully embed security capabilities into their strategies. We will help businesses put security at the heart of what they do ensuring the safety and security of their business growth.

Cyber Works logo

Discover more support

Cyber Works enables effective, impactful and innovative opportunities for knowledge exchange between businesses and the Cyber Security Research Centre (CSRC) based at Lancaster University.

We help to link business to our rich vibrant community of multidisciplinary researchers and we provide a range of options and avenues of support. Through exchanging knowledge, building key partnerships and using research, we help companies to defend, innovate and grow.

Cyber Works