MIT for the North plan focused on Yorkshire 'still very much on the table', says Sheffield City Region mayor Dan Jarvis

Dan Jarvis says the University of Sheffield could be the “fulcrum point” for a northern equivalent to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a private research university in the US world-famous for turning its cutting-edge research into the new companies and skilled jobs.

The idea of such a project modelled on MIT, with Leeds at the suggested base, was floated last year by former Northern Powerhouse Minister Jake Berry.

But Number 10 briefed against Mr Berry’s proposal, amid reports that the PM’s advisor Dominic Cummings preferred plans to be drawn up for considerable investment into existing universities.

Mr Jarvis told The Yorkshire Post: “From my point of view, the MIT of the North is very much on the table. I think it represents a fantastic opportunity not just for us in South Yorkshire but for the wider North.

“But again, we do need government to commit, and invest in it as an institution and if they do that. I am highly confident that the returns for the North but for UK PLC more generally would be very substantial.”

In Boris Johnson’s Conservative election manifesto he promised to double research and development funding nationally, prompting calls for greater investment in the North.

Mr Berry, who has since left the Cabinet, said MIT provides a ‘significant boost’ to the regional economy in which it sits and that he hoped to see a similar ‘world leading institution in the North to rival Oxford and Cambridge’.

But the PM’s chief advisor Dominic Cummings was said to disagree with the idea, arguing that a new institution would take years to establish.

Earlier this month, a report highlighted the fact that Yorkshire and the Humber has more than 670 life sciences companies and around 500 specialising in medical technology, more than traditional research powerhouses Oxford and Cambridge combined.

And it says that with the right support from national and local leaders as part of the ‘levelling up agenda’, the “rich set of connections” the region boasts in health research and innovation could be used to boost the local economy and the health of the population.

Earlier this month, Business Secretary Alok Sharma published the Government’s research and development ‘roadmap’ setting out plans to attract global talent, cut unnecessary bureaucracy and cement the UK as a world-leading science superpower.

A £300 million government investment was announced to upgrade scientific infrastructure across the UK and a New Office for Talent set up to make it easier for leading global scientists, researchers and innovators to come to the UK.

Mr Jarvis, who this week saw the Sheffield City Region devolution deal pass into law, said any investment in research and development away from the South East could be based on the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, a network of world-leading research and innovation centres.

He said: “I think the clearest demonstration from national government that they want to level up would be the creation of an MIT for the North and through Sheffield University and South Yorkshire we are perfectly placed to be the fulcrum point.

“It will be a partnership arrangement working with other universities including Manchester but also Strathclyde as well.”