In the late 1800s Glasgow was one of the richest cities in the world with an economy built on innovations in industries such as shipbuilding and textiles.
Now a partnership between business, local and national government and Strathclyde University is seeking to put the city back on the global map.
The model, which has improved productivity, created jobs and attracted inward investment in cities across the world, will bring together researchers, established firms and start-ups to work side-by-side.
The new Glasgow City Innovation District stretches from George Square to the edge of Glasgow Green and south to the Clyde.
In the past eight years the university and its partners have invested more than £100 million in the Technology and Innovation Centre on George Street and neighbouring buildings to enable co-location of businesses and research groups.
Plans are now in development for two additional buildings to double the space available.
The area is being transformed further through City Deal funding which will see the development of new transport initiatives, homes, hotels and commercial space.
New innovations in the district will focus on health technologies, artificial intelligence, the financial industry and the design and manufacture of satellites to monitor crop yield, pollution and changes in desert and ice coverage.
Other innovations will focus on 5G communications, faster wireless communications to control automated vehicles and the harnessing of physics at an atomic scale to create faster, more efficient computers.
Professor Sir Jim McDonald, the university principal, said the development of the new district would make the city a “hotbed” for the creation and production of new technologies and ideas.
He said: “The city has the perfect elements to stimulate innovation from partners with the ambition and drive to help businesses succeed, an entrepreneurial environment and a rapidly-growing community of innovators.
“The university is proud to sit at the heart of the Glasgow City Innovation District and has a proven successful model of industrial engagement.
“The district will further accelerate the development of new technologies to help a wide range of sectors, as well informing a new generation of highly-skilled graduates who know what is required to help businesses thrive.”
Susan Aitken, leader of Glasgow City Council, said the focus should also be on ensuring that all of Glasgow’s population benefitted from the development.
She said: “Glasgow’s global reputation as an inventive, pioneering and productive city continues to flourish and the launch of the innovation district is a major milestone in our collective ambitions.
“We have fantastic assets in a highly-skilled workforce, internationally-recognised universities, distinctive and expanding science, technology, engineering and digital sectors, and a capacity for turning innovation into jobs.
“The innovation district has excellent national and international connectivity, with proximity to airports, the rail and road network and set within a very attractive and liveable quarter of the city just a short walk from the city centre.”
The innovation district model has its roots in a number of developments in cities across the world, but originally comes form an observation in the 1970s that cities had a competitive advantage because of the potential of collaboration between the “triple helix” of universities, business and government.
It was also noticed in cities such as Boston and in developments in Silicon Valley that this collaboration tended to happen in particular locations.
Over the last 40 year in a number of cities including Toronto, Stockholm, Singapore, Berlin and Barcelona, these innovation districts began to emerge as locations which have an accessible university which works collaboratively with business and creates a hub which spills over into the surrounding area and then attracts further investment and interest into that district.
Greg Clark, a visiting professor at Strathclyde University, said: “Innovation districts are helping cities world-wide to accelerate the transition to an advanced economy, and the jobs, trade and revenues that it brings.
“Such districts provide specialised locations that foster collaboration between business, science and institutions which create a place for talent, entrepreneurs and investors to work with city and business leaders.”
The development was also welcomed by Derek Mackay, Cabinet Secretary for Finance, who is in discussions with the university to provide additional funds.
He said: “This is an exciting, ambitious project, one that could have significant economic and social impact for Glasgow, the surrounding areas and Scotland.
“This innovation district has the potential to transform the opportunities for businesses in the area, whilst attracting new investment and boosting Glasgow’s established reputation as a city of innovation, in which Strathclyde University plays a key role.”
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