Daniel Zeichner, MP for Cambridge attended the Memorandum of Understanding signing today with Huawei Technologies, BT and the University of Cambridge. The signing will followed by a tour of the Engineering Faculty. 

Huawei and BT have announced a new five-year initiative with the aim of establishing a joint research and collaboration group at the University of Cambridge, to bring together experts at the cutting edge of global information and communication technologies. This will cement Cambridge as the centre of the UK’s ‘Silicon Fen.’ The research group will be backed up by £25 million in funding and contributions over the five years, and will focus on a number of technological areas including digital and network access infrastructure and photonics. 

Daniel Zeichner said: “This is an excellent project, and I hope it’ll add even more exciting new research to Cambridge’s prolific portfolio. So close to the rest of the Cambridge cluster of world-leading tech companies, this is a clearly brilliant environment for new innovations to flourish.

The high quality and exciting jobs that come from this venture will be great for Cambridge too, and I’m looking forward to seeing how this initiative progresses. I’m also really pleased that the group aim to look at how tech can deliver positive results for societies such as those excluded from digital transformation, or at risk of damage to their communities due to climate change.”

Ken Hu Deputy Chairman and Rotating CEO, Huawei said, “we all know that the speed and breadth of technological advance has never been faster, or wider than it is today. The benefits these new technologies will offer to mankind will be many and profound, they will affect nearly every aspect of our lives. The opportunities presented to us all of us are significant, but alongside them will be a range of challenges, and risks. These are challenges and risks, I believe, we must seek to comprehend and address together.

It is these innovations, and the challenges they present, that BT, Huawei and University of Cambridge are today agreeing to work together on. To understand them and define potential ways to address and resolve them, and to build not only a better connected world, but a better society for all.”