FEATURE
Venue – the flagship Game Republic New Horizons conference took place at Boro’ s Riverside Stadium in October.
GAME ON
Insights – the expert panel at the Game Republic New Horizons conference discuss some of the day’ s hottest topics.
Backing for Game Republic cements digital powerhouse push
Sarah Walker, interim director of business solutions for Tees Valley Combined Authority, explains how its backing for the Game Republic network is fuelling growth in the region’ s gaming sector...
Tees Valley is rapidly cementing its position as one of the UK’ s most dynamic digital and creative powerhouses.
We are turning ambition into action by providing the right environment for businesses to innovate, collaborate and grow, attracting investment and creating jobs.
Our backing of Game Republic, the largest professional games network in the north, for the next three years, lays down a clear marker of intent.
We want to give our growing gaming community the support and visibility it needs to thrive by connecting developers and studios with investors and partners.
It’ s building a region where gaming and digital businesses can progress – and where local people see a clear route into high-value digital careers.
At the heart of our vision is the £ 160m Tees Valley Investment Zone – a partnership between the Tees Valley Combined Authority and Teesside University that’ s focused on our digital and creative sectors.
It’ s designed to supercharge growth, productivity and inward investment, unlocking £ 175m of private sector funding and creating more than 2,000 skilled jobs.
Middlesbrough is home to a thriving cluster of gaming and technology businesses that we’ re supporting for further innovation and growth.
The rise of world-leading gaming giant Double Eleven is a perfect example of a digital business that’ s thrived – and we want to provide the backing for more of our brilliant firms to go to the next level. Having companies operating with global reach, while remaining rooted in our community, shows how success here strengthens regional supply chains and generates wider opportunities across Tees Valley.
When our creative and digital firms grow, so do specialist suppliers, freelancers and start-ups around them. It’ s a ripple effect benefitting everyone involved – and we want to make those ripples even stronger.
For entrepreneurs and investors, we’ re providing an environment where ideas meet opportunity. The Investment Zone is building an ecosystem to connect talent, technology and investment to drive longterm success.
From the Northern Studios in Hartlepool to Middlesbrough’ s Boho Zone and Albert North, the Tees Valley is becoming a place where creative content and advanced technology are made, shared and exported across the world.
The next generation of digital talent is already being armed with the skills and confidence to lead the economy of the future.
Teesside University plays a vital role. More than 3,500 students are currently studying digital-related courses within its School of Computing, Engineering and Digital Technologies – one of the bestequipped in the country. With AR and VR suites, motion capture labs and recording studios, students are immersed in realworld digital practice.
The university’ s research strengths in artificial intelligence, data analytics, cybersecurity and the Internet of Things are helping our firms innovate faster and operate more efficiently. Supporting collaboration between education and industry is vital. It’ s why we want to build on the success of the Industrial Digitalisation
Technology Centre by connecting small and medium-sized enterprises with cutting-edge expertise in automation, data and Industry 4.0.
This support gives businesses the confidence to explore digitalisation, reduce risks and bring new products and services to market in a sustainable way.
The numbers tell the story. Tees Valley’ s digital ecosystem is already home to more than 750 businesses, contributing around £ 487m in gross value added( GVA) and employing more than 8,700 people.
New companies are continuing to emerge and scale up. Businesses here are not only adopting technology but shaping it and ensuring supply chains benefit and flourish in equal measure.
Our region is a place where entrepreneurs and firms can plug into one of the fastestgrowing digital hubs outside London. Most importantly, it’ s a region proving you don’ t have to leave to go global – by developing our talent, keeping it here and seeing it succeed.
Prominence – world-leading gaming giant Double Eleven is one of the Tees Valley’ s many success stories.
The voice of business in the Tees region | 23