Background
The Belfast Region City Deal (BRCD) is a £1 billion+ transformative investment program signed in December 2021 by a partnership of councils, universities, and government. It aims to create up to 20,000 new jobs, boost tourism, and strengthen high-growth sectors like digital, creative, and health sciences through over 20 projects, fostering inclusive, sustainable economic growth.
The Northern Light project is aligned to the investment and partnerships formed as part of the Belfast Region City Deal. Over £850 million has been secured from the Northern Ireland Executive and UK Government, with additional private sector investment expected to exceed £1 billion. The partnership includes Belfast City Council, five other regional councils, Queen’s University Belfast, Ulster University, and further education colleges.
This project is directly aligned to the Innovation and digital pillar of the City Deal which is focussed on investing in centres of excellence , one being Studio Ulster to support the growth of the creative digital industries.
Studio Ulster is a world-class virtual production campus based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, offering cutting-edge facilities for film, television, gaming, animation, and immersive media. Developed by Ulster University in partnership with Belfast Harbour and supported by Northern Ireland Screen, the studio is home to one of five national CoSTAR Labs and the only purpose-built virtual production facility on the island of Ireland.
Ulster University have been appointed to run the Northern Light incubation project at Studio Ulster with finance from Belfast City Council’s Local Economic Partnership funding from the Department of the Economy.
