Royal Holloway, University of London is celebrating an important milestone for the UK's creative industries as the CoSTAR National Lab – led by an expert team at the University – officially opened a new hub for research, innovation and industry collaboration at the iconic Pinewood Studios.
Royal Holloway, University of London is celebrating an important milestone for the UK's creative industries as the CoSTAR National Lab – led by an expert team at the University – officially opened a new hub for research, innovation and industry collaboration at the iconic Pinewood Studios.
The opening event on 4 November brought together CoSTAR’s industry and academic partners and key stakeholders from across the UK’s creative industries, with guests able to experience some of the Lab’s new facilities first-hand.
It marked an important milestone in the evolution of the CoSTAR Network, a £75.6 million investment by the UKRI Infrastructure Fund delivered by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), to build the UK’s first national network of research and development laboratories for the creative industries – one of eight priority areas in the government's Modern Industrial Strategy.
As a key partner in the CoSTAR Network, Royal Holloway is helping to drive innovation that connects world-leading research with industry needs, supporting growth, skills development and collaboration across the creative sector.
The CoSTAR National Lab strengthens the established creative industries cluster in the region. It also importantly extends its impact as part of the Network's national research and innovation framework, giving ambitious companies and SMEs from across the UK access to the expertise and infrastructure to develop, test and demonstrate new ideas, tools and techniques that will help shape the future of the creative industries.
Sarah Ellis MBE, Director of CoSTAR National Lab, said: “Opening our CoSTAR Stage based at Pinewood Studios is a defining moment for the CoSTAR National Lab. We’re putting world-class facilities, specialist expertise and advanced AI compute directly into the hands of the people shaping the future of gaming, TV, film and performance. Just as importantly, we’re committed to developing AI ethically and responsibly, so that the technologies created here support creative talent and earn the trust of the industry and audiences alike.
“Basing the National Lab at Pinewood, the heart of UK’s globally recognised home of storytelling and filmmaking, means creatives, technologists, researchers and companies can test new ideas in a working production environment, where they have the support they need to grow and develop.”
Professor Julie Sanders, Vice-Chancellor and Principal at Royal Holloway, said: "This event was a fantastic opportunity to showcase this phenomenal facility and the potentials it represents, as well as the outstanding innovation and collaboration behind CoSTAR National Lab and the wider CoSTAR Network.
"CoSTAR is an ambitious, purposeful collaboration connecting regional and sector strengths into national infrastructure and opportunity – something that feels truly future-facing. We're enormously proud of the expertise at Royal Holloway that is helping to drive it forwards.
"Achievements across the CoSTAR Network demonstrate and celebrate what is possible when universities, industry and creative talent work together with a shared ambition to drive innovation, skills and growth. It's incredibly exciting to work with such a range of brilliant partners in shaping the future of the creative industries in the UK, together."
