The new facility promises to be a beacon for computational and mathematical thinking that will draw in talented researchers, collaborations with industry and research users, to generate significant research income and help underpin job creation and economic opportunity in the region.

The University’s vision is to nurture and grow a dedicated community of computational and mathematical scientists who pursue transformative research and believe that better computational science is vital in building a progressive world: socially, economically, culturally, philosophically and intellectually.

The Foundry, backed by £17m from the European Regional Development Fund, will drive forward computational and mathematical science research, to help make Wales a global destination for computational scientists.

The Foundry will also seek to connect researchers with collaborative partners to develop and pilot ideas, to form large scale research proposals funded both by private and public funders. As results emerge from such projects, the research will be translated into impact for society and the economy.

Initially, the three core research themes will be:-

• Securing Life which looks at cyber security
• Sustaining Life which explores health technologies
• Enhancing Life which examines the increasing prevalence of digital in everyday life

However, the Foundry will be flexible in approach as it responds to industry needs and emerging research priorities across computational science.

Professor Alan Dix, Director of the Computational Foundry said: “Our ambition is that the Foundry will be a place where industry partners can work with the University to test new ideas, where people from all disciplines can link up and research, and where the digital innovators of tomorrow are completing their studies.

“It will transform the regional and national digital economy, attracting investment, industry, jobs and other opportunities to the region.

“The Foundry is about building a community – a people and place – so that an eco-system involving students, researchers, industry can thrive to benefit all of society.”

The new building will provide modern and state-of-the-art facilities for a computational science community - its core team being the staff of Swansea University University’s Computer Science and Mathematics departments.

Facilities at the Computational Foundry include:

• Teaching space for undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Computer Science and Mathematics
• Bespoke laboratories set up to support research and innovation
• Shared spaces for collaboration between industry, research and student partners

Professor Dix said:  “The Computational Foundry is a real opportunity for anyone from any background who wants to change the world. We want to involve as many different perspectives in all that we do - not just technologists or computer scientists, but people from the arts and social sciences, and, critically, people from our community as we build a future that involves everyone and is for everyone.”