Skip to main content
What types of page to search?

Popular pages: Undergraduate Postgraduate PhD Accommodation Research International students

Alternatively use our A-Z index.

AI and data-driven innovation

The Civic HealthTech Innovation Zone (CHI-Zone), managed by the University’s Civic Health Innovation Labs (CHIL) and supported by its VEC (Virtual Engineering Centre), is driving transformation in health and care by connecting tech developers to world-class expertise to participate in research, development and innovation activities.

Backed by £10 million from the LCR Life Sciences Innovation Zone Programme, the CHI-Zone aims to boost economic growth, create jobs, and position the region as a leader in health and care technology.

The programme is expected to create at least 365 jobs, train more than 1,000 people, support over 125 businesses and entrepreneurs, and foster at least 10 new digital health and care companies.

Projects are already underway, attracting attention from key local stakeholders, central government and international partners.

Professor Vic Rayner, Dr Annemarie Naylor and Professor Iain Buchan

Their flagship initiative is an Adult Social Care Testbed, developed in partnership with the National Care Forum - the leading voice for not-for-profit social care providers and support organisations in the UK. This initiative invites industry partners to co-design, test and evaluate digital solutions with the potential to improve care provision and outcomes for people who draw on care, working with experts in the Region.

By exploring the ways in which our not-for-profit care and support providers in the Liverpool City Region can make better use of data and technology while upskilling their workforce, we’re charting an exciting course towards care for the future that puts people receiving care and support in a wide range of settings at the centre.

Professor Vic Rayner, Chief Executive Officer, National Care Forum

A group on entrepreneurs standing in an atrium, holding cards that read Citizens First LCR

Another innovative programme is Citizen First LCR, delivered in partnership with Public Life. This unique approach supports ‘hidden entrepreneurs’ from local communities – people whose lived experience of health and care challenges gives them powerful ideas for change. These participants are establishing or developing businesses that aim to tackle regional health and care challenges, from the use of robotics in hospital settings to AI-guided sleep support and even a uniquely accessible mobile hair salon.

Through the CHI-Zone, the University is advancing its civic mission – leveraging science and technology to address the real needs of local communities.

All the hidden entrepreneurs on the programme are hugely inspiring, and we are delighted to offer them a year’s Real Living Wage salary and sector-leading support to build their businesses. They are breaking new ground in tackling the health and care challenges facing them and their communities.

James Green, CEO and Founder of Public Life