In February 2026, the University of Liverpool and the University of Oxford, together with Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and Oxfordshire County Council, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on tackling global challenges through research, innovation and partnership.
Since joining forces at the start of the year, the Liverpool-Oxford partnership has continued to strengthen, with a Liverpool delegation visiting Oxford this week to attend a series of special partnership events as part of Ox Tech Week 2026, Oxford's flagship technology and innovation festival.
The Liverpool delegation attending Ox Tech Week comprised senior leaders from the University, including Vice Chancellor Professor Tim Jones, and key figures from industry, investment, regional innovation, and local government across the Liverpool City Region, including Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram.
The visit began with an invitation-only event at Ox Tech Week which brought together senior leaders from high-growth companies in Oxford and Liverpool, alongside key investors and ecosystem partners. The roundtable discussion focused on the practical challenges of scaling businesses, including access to capital, talent and infrastructure, with a particular emphasis on strengthening the UK's ability to retain scale-up companies and support their long-term growth domestically. The discussion explored how regional ecosystems and strategic partnerships, such as the Liverpool-Oxford partnership, can better enable businesses to scale, as well as what further action may be needed at a national government level to unlock business scale-up and growth potential in the UK.
Speaking after the event, Professor Kate Black, Professor of Manufacturing at the University of Liverpool and CEO and Founder of Atomik AM, said: "It was a privilege to take part in Ox Tech Week, representing both the University of Liverpool and Atomik AM. Bringing together different innovation ecosystems creates opportunities for new ideas, collaborations and approaches that might not emerge otherwise. Liverpool and Oxford share a strong culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, and it has been fascinating to explore the similarities between our regions. I'm excited to see how these connections develop and the opportunities they create in the future."
Later, an invitation-only Ox Tech Week dinner, hosted by Professor Irene Tracy, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Oxford, focussed on building tomorrow's talent and the role that universities can play. Held at the historic Balliol College, the event brought together business leaders, partners from Liverpool, and academic colleagues from Oxford and Liverpool, to discuss and explore a genuinely business-led approach to Level 4+ skills pathways. The discussion focussed on how advanced technical competencies are defined, valued, and developed, and how skilled workforces can be better built and retained across regions. The event examined current pathways, where they are falling short for businesses, and the interventions needed across business, local government, and national policy.
Earlier in the day, the delegation also visited the EIT Oxford campus (pictured), the flagship international expansion of the prestigious Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), a global research and innovation organisation founded by Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, designed to accelerate the translation of scientific discovery into real-world solutions. Located at Oxford Science Park and expected to open fully by 2027, EIT Oxford will comprise a major new campus with advanced laboratories, supercomputing infrastructure, clinical facilities, and collaborative research environments that will house around 7,000 researchers.
Professor Tim Jones, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Liverpool, said: "It was a real pleasure to take part in Ox Tech Week and meet so many inspiring people from across industry, academia and policy. The Liverpool-Oxford partnership demonstrates the power of connecting regional innovation ecosystems to create a stronger national pathway from world-leading research and company creation through to scale-up, industrialisation and global market growth for the benefit of the UK. I look forward to further strengthening our partnership with Oxford in the months and years ahead and to seeing the positive impact it will deliver regionally, nationally and globally for people and communities."
