“Photonics is one of the few areas where Europe can compete on infrastructure. But it needs coordinated investment across research, commercialisation, and manufacturing.”
“The entire industry is rethinking what infrastructure looks like for AI. If you can build the system that moves data better, faster, and with less power, you’re building the foundation for everything else to scale.”
“In local government and healthcare and transport, we’re not thinking about the nuts and bolts of the technology. What we’re thinking about is public value. How it’s going to improve sustainability, unlock growth, and deliver better services.”
Freyja Lockwood, Digital Innovation & Transformation Programme Manager at the West of England Combined Authority (WECA), on the need for JOINER to help local government improve services and drive growth.
“Unless we get the architecture and skills right, there will be no demand for 6G.”
“We didn’t know it at the time, but solving that one problem opened the door to dozens of others. We thought we were helping UKAEA process fibre signals from a fusion reactor. What we found was a much bigger opportunity to rethink how we handle signal processing across the board.”
“It’s not enough to simulate. We need full-stack, real-world scale. Only then will spectrum management models become credible.”
Professor Simon Saunders, visiting professor at the University of Bristol, describing JOINER as “layer zero”, the essential foundation for everything from 5G to experimental 6G systems.
“There aren’t many cities in the world where the companies actually developing the technology are local to where the supercomputer is being built but Bristol is one of them.”
“FDI [Foreign Direct Investment] is not just capital, it brings global talent, international partnerships, and long-term confidence. The UK must become a more competitive and compelling destination to retain existing business investment and attract new, globally mobile partners.”
“We’re not trying to be everything to everyone, but we are open across a breadth of sectors where we know we add value.”
Dr Ashley Brewer, head of property at Science Creates, talking about strategy behind the successful Bristol-based start-up hub, in our article A blueprint for national innovation?
“We’re looking at a 10-year, £100-million mission. Lab space is critical but it’s also about culture, support and flexibility.”
Michael Roberts, founder of start-up GenomeKey, talking about strategy and the firm’s complex lab requirements and limited resources, in our article A blueprint for national innovation?
Working as a technology journalist and writer since 1989, Marc has written for a wide range of titles on technology, business, education, politics and sustainability, with work appearing in The Guardian, The Register, New Statesman, Computer Weekly and many more.
