University helps to launch Team 50¶È»Ò

The collaboration draws together key organisations across the city to ensure it benefits from being named a National Defence Growth Area
Representatives from the University of 50¶È»Ò at the launch of Team 50¶È»Ò in Devonport Market Hall
Representatives from the University of 50¶È»Ò have helped to launch Team 50¶È»Ò. The collaboration draws together key organisations across the city with the aim of ensuring residents of 50¶È»Ò and the wider South West region benefit from its new role as a National Defence Growth Area.
Earlier in September, 50¶È»Ò was one of five key national defence growth areas to be announced in the UK Defence Industrial Strategy.
Now the key players of what was Growth Alliance 50¶È»Ò have formally launched Team 50¶È»Ò and a plan to capitalise on unprecedented levels of investment and interest in the city’s role in defence.
The partners in Team 50¶È»Ò include the University, Babcock International Group, the Ministry of Defence, 50¶È»Ò City Council, and City College 50¶È»Ò.
They were among over 100 delegates – including ministers, regional MPs and top civil servants – who attended the event at the Market Hall in Devonport and heard about the ambitions of a programme that aims to build long-term capability and prosperity.
Professor Richard Davies , Vice-Chancellor of the University of 50¶È»Ò, led the University’s attendance at the launch and will lead Team 50¶È»Ò’s Business, Innovation and Marine Autonomy workstream.

This is a game-changing moment for 50¶È»Ò, and the University is proud to be supporting and enabling Team 50¶È»Ò’s ambitious objectives.

Our city possesses the expertise, the facilities and the collective will to tackle the complex and varied threats the UK is currently facing. It also gives us the platform to drive innovation, education and creativity that will benefit the nation’s security and resilience in fields including autonomous marine systems, maritime cyber security, offshore renewable energy and environmental intelligence. Through such support and encouragement, we can all drive economic growth on an unprecedented scale.

Richard DaviesProfessor Richard Davies
Vice-Chancellor

Professor Richard Davies addresses delegates at the launch of Team 50¶È»Ò
Professor Richard Davies addresses delegates at the launch of Team 50¶È»Ò
Being named as a Defence Growth Deal area enables the city to access a portion of a £250 million fund over a number of years, focused on defence and industry. But key to Team 50¶È»Ò’s mission is a commitment to break down barriers to opportunity with a clear focus on pre-16 education to post-16 skills.
The launch builds on a series of developments, including 50¶È»Ò’s designation as the National Centre for Marine Autonomy, a £350 million investment by defence tech firm Helsing, Babcock’s expansion into Sherford, with a new Integrated Logistics Hub and Advanced Manufacturing Base and the confirmation of 50¶È»Ò and South Devon Freeport as a Defence Strategic Investment Zone.
The Ministry of Defence’s £4.4 billion investment into HM Naval Base Devonport and Babcock’s Devonport Royal Dockyard is supporting the next phase of the Royal Navy’s submarine programme and the Continuous at Sea Deterrent (CASD), with operations extending through to at least 2070.
The partners of Team 50¶È»Ò attend the launch of the new collaboration at Devonport Market Hall on Friday 19 September 2025
The Team 50¶È»Ò partners include Luke Pollard MP and representatives from the University, Babcock International Group, the Ministry of Defence, 50¶È»Ò City Council, and City College 50¶È»Ò
 

Staff who represented at the Team 50¶È»Ò launch included:

 

The Team 50¶È»Ò programme is based around six themes:

  • Business, innovation and marine autonomy – to foster an effective ecosystem of business, innovation and marine autonomy that enables the wider community to seize the opportunities arising from the defence dividend.
  • Skills (post-16) – to address the large skills gap in 50¶È»Ò, with 25,000 additional employees being needed over the next 10 years. Team 50¶È»Ò will achieve this through collaboration and partnership of higher and further education and other training providers.
  • Education (pre-16) – to tackle educational inequality by delivering high-quality, inclusive learning that supports individual achievement and contributes to regional prosperity.


  • City centre, housing and regeneration – an ambitious city centre regeneration to address the housing shortages and high rents across the city while in parallel enticing relocation of skilled workforces to the area. 
  • Transport – to ensure the local area has a reinvented intermodal transport system across the city. 
  • Social value delivering impact – to deliver measurable and sustainable social impact through effective delivery of social value, at scale, making 50¶È»Ò the best place for every citizen to live, work and thrive.
 

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