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Durham University and Microsoft launch AI Skills Centre of Excellence 

Professor Karen O’Brien, Vice-Chancellor and Warden, Durham University and Darren Hardman, Corporate Vice President and CEO, Microsoft UK and Ireland at the official opening of the AI Skills Centre of Excellence.

Durham University and Microsoft have officially opened a new AI Skills Centre of Excellence where businesses and communities, and University staff and students, will be able to develop the essential skills needed for a future supported by Artificial Intelligence.

The Centre will bring together expertise, training, tools, and support to help people of different backgrounds and levels of experience build confidence in using AI in ways that are practical, responsible, and relevant to global and local challenges.

The launch brough together partners from Durham County Council, North East Mayoral Strategic Authority, Confederation of British Industry and regional businesses.

In its first stage, the Centre will contribute to preparing Durham University students and graduates for a rapidly evolving job market, and support University staff to explore new ways of enhancing teaching, learning, research and professional services through AI.

In future phases, there will be opportunities for businesses, public sector agencies, and community partners to engage with emerging technologies, helping build and strengthen AI capability and growth across the region. The physical hub will be a lively centre offering workshops, training events, and other sessions focused on AI and associated technologies. 

The Centre will become part of how Durham University is driving digital innovation and AI development in North East England, including through the North East AI Growth Zone, and its partnerships with the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority, Durham County Council, and others.

Professor Karen O’Brien, Vice-Chancellor and Warden of Durham University, said: “Durham graduates are highly sought after by employers because of how well we prepare them for the world of work. AI is changing the workplace, and this pioneering partnership with Microsoft, as well as other initiatives we are taking, will help our students continue to innovate, lead, and excel.

“This partnership also has huge potential to benefit our local businesses, agencies, and communities, and we will say more about how they can engage and learn as the Centre develops.”

Darren Hardman, Corporate Vice President and CEO, Microsoft UK and Ireland, said: “I believe AI can create new opportunities for young people across the country, no matter their background or where they grew up. This long-term commitment to building AI skills for students, staff and the wider community is a demonstration of Durham University’s leadership and contribution to achieving that goal. I know I speak for the whole team when I say Microsoft is proud to partner with the University and support the development of this AI Skills Centre of Excellence as it serves people in the North East for years to come.”

Through the Centre, Durham University and Microsoft will work together to:

  • Support students in developing AI skills valued by employers.

  • Help staff enhance teaching, research and ways of working supported by AI.

  • Create learning and development opportunities for businesses and public sector organisations.

  • Promote responsible, inclusive and equitable access to AI skills and technologies.

  • Contribute to regional and national AI capability and economic growth.

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Future is bright for The Light following opening weekend 

People standing at the Light exhibition with rainbow colours in the background

Visitors of all ages took their first steps into The Light, Durham’s brand-new cultural attraction, as it officially opened its doors to the public.

An unforgettable programme of activities was held across Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 August to celebrate the launch of our venue, which serves as the region’s latest destination for culture, creativity and community.

Officially opened by our Chairman, Cllr Robbie Rodiss, the building’s celebrations brought live performances, including music from Pittington Brass Band, acrobatics by Cequin Circus, and live sets from some of the North East’s talented singer-songwriters.

Children and their families also got to explore new sights and experiences with science inspired lawn games.

Inside The Light, visitors made their mark on the venue by contributing to a collaborative illuminated sculpture inspired by moths drawn to light.

They were also invited to experiment with fluorescent materials within a glowing creative playground, where their drawings and messages will become part of an ever-changing light installation.

And guests got to see the venue’s inaugural exhibitions for the very first time – We Are The Durhams: The Durham Light Infantry Exhibition and Victory Over the Sun: Encounters with Light.

A huge success

Cllr Rodiss said: “This has been a long-anticipated day for Durham City and I’m pleased to say that the opening celebrations for The Light have been a huge success.

“The Light is a venue that not only honours the building’s past, but showcases its future as a centre for art, innovation, and history. This has been a significant investment into Durham’s cultural offering, and we are delighted to have already received an incredibly positive response from visitors.

“We can’t wait to welcome more people into The Light and inspire them through an amazing programme that is planned for the rest of the year and beyond.”

Victory Over the Sun: Encounters with Light brings together groundbreaking works by artists who use light in extraordinary ways, including Tracey Emin, Dan Flavin, Olafur Eliasson, and Chila Burman. Running until Sunday 17 January, it explores light as both subject and material, sparking questions of perception, nature and the cosmos.

Visitors to The Light will also have the chance to discover more about the DLI at a fascinating new permanent exhibition. Featuring images, sounds, hands-on activities and rich sensory experiences, We Are The Durhams builds upon the venue’s military heritage to tell a deeply human story of identity, belonging and community.

The celebrations continue

The opening weekend celebrations will continue into the final weeks of the summer holidays with a packed programme of artist-led workshops and creative activities inspired by light, colour, perception, and imagination.

Details of The Light’s autumn/winter programme will be announced soon.

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Visit County Durham shortlisted for Travel For Every Body Awards 2026 

Everybody logo

Visit County Durham has been shortlisted in the Destination category at the Travel For Every Body Awards 2026, recognising its work to make County Durham a more accessible and inclusive destination.

The awards, organised by travel industry publication Selling Travel, celebrate organisations and initiatives helping to make travel more inclusive and accessible. 

Visit County Durham is shortlisted alongside destinations from across the UK and around the world, including Experience Grand Rapids, New York State, Spanish Tourist Office, Tenerife, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Travel Oregon, Visit Austin, Visit Düsseldorf and VisitEngland. 

Michelle Gorman, managing director of Visit County Durham, said: “We want County Durham to be a destination where everyone can enjoy the experiences, attractions, landscapes and hospitality we have to offer. Being shortlisted for the Travel For Every Body Awards is fantastic recognition of the work taking place across the county to improve accessibility and create a welcoming experience for all visitors. It also highlights the importance of working together with our tourism businesses and partners to make inclusive tourism part of everything we do.” 

The recognition highlights County Durham’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that visitors with a wide range of access needs can enjoy the county’s attractions, accommodation, experiences and landscapes. 

The winners will be announced at the Travel For Every Body Awards ceremony at voco Manchester on 1 October 2026. 

View the full Travel For Every Body Awards 2026 shortlist: Finalists for Travel For Every Body Awards 2026 – Selling Travel

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A new mark of excellence: Seaham Hall celebrates landmark Michelin Key achievement

Seaham Hall Hotel with the Michellin logo

Seaham Hall, the five-star luxury hotel and spa based in County Durham, has been awarded a coveted MICHELIN Key by the MICHELIN guide, in recognition of its outstanding hospitality and commitment to exceptional guest experiences.

The MICHELIN Key is a highly selective accolade and is the hotel equivalent of the MICHELIN Star, celebrating hotels that demonstrate excellence across design, service, character, value and sense of place.

Awarded following rigorous, anonymous inspections, the Key recognises hotels that deliver an exceptional overall stay and showcase distinctive character, high-quality service and a strong connection to their surroundings.

Seaham Hall, which this year celebrates its 25th anniversary, is the only hotel in County Durham to be awarded with the prestigious award and is now one of two MICHELIN Key hotels in the North East region. The hotel joins the highly exclusive list of 18 new Key hotels added across the UK and Ireland, with now only 150 hotels holding the title across England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

Seaham Hall is highly decorated, with a recent recognition in the prestigious La Liste, where it claimed the top spot in the North East and placed number 51 in the UK. The hotel has also recently been shortlisted in the AA Spa and Hospitality Awards for its commitment to delivering exceptional wellness experiences, outstanding facilities and exemplary service.

The hotel holds a reputation as one of the North East’s leading coastal hotels, spa and wellness destinations and has undertaken a number of significant refurbishments over the past year in its commitment to offering exceptional guest experiences. In April the hotel re-opened its Zen Garden within its world-renowned Serenity Spa following a major £1 million investment. Alongside this, Seaham Hall has also launched two refined hospitality offerings including Japanese-inspired spa restaurant, Geko, and Harvey’s Bar, a modern speakeasy inspired by the hotel’s remarkable history. 

Ross Grieve, Managing Director of Seaham Hall said: “Receiving a MICHELIN Key is a fantastic achievement for our entire team at Seaham Hall and something we are incredibly proud of. To be recognised among just two hotels in the North East is a real honour and reflects the care and attention that goes into every aspect of the guest experience, from our outstanding levels of hospitality to our approach to food and our connection to the region. It is incredible to see that commitment recognised by the MICHELIN Guide, and we look forward to continuing to build on this achievement.”

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Magnitude Biosciences secures £1.3m to scale breakthrough drug discovery platform

Magnitude Biosciences secures £1.3m to scale breakthrough drug discovery platform

NETPark-based Magnitude Biosciences secures £1.3 million to scale drug discovery platform

Magnitude Biosciences, a Durham University spinout based at NETPark, has secured £1.3 million to accelerate the commercialisation of its VivoScan™ drug screening platform.

The specialist contract research organisation will use the investment to scale its technology, expand its work with global pharmaceutical companies, invest in new equipment and automation, and recruit additional staff.

Developing faster approaches to drug discovery

Magnitude Biosciences works with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to identify potential treatments for ageing, longevity and neurodegenerative diseases.

Its VivoScan™ platform provides high-throughput drug screening using C. elegans, a microscopic nematode worm, as a biological model. It allows researchers to evaluate potential treatments in a whole organism at an early stage of the drug discovery process.

By combining this model with advanced imaging, machine learning, artificial intelligence, automation and robotics, Magnitude Biosciences can produce detailed biological data in weeks rather than years.

The approach gives researchers a faster and more cost-effective way to assess thousands of compounds while supporting the pharmaceutical industry’s move towards non-mammalian research models.

Dr Fozia Saleem, CEO of Magnitude Biosciences, said:

“Our ambition is to become the first company to provide a platform to screen millions of compounds in a whole organism. This investment in VivoScan™ gives us the opportunity to turn that ambition into reality and fundamentally change the scale and speed at which drug discovery can be done.
“We are building a platform that can move beyond simply screening more compounds. VivoScan™ generates rich, whole-organism biological data that can help researchers understand how potential therapies affect health, ageing and disease. “By making data generation faster and more cost-effective, we will be able to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies identify better drug candidates earlier and ultimately accelerate the development of new treatments.”

Finance Durham Fund backs company’s growth

Northstar Ventures led the investment round, committing funding from the North East Spinout Inspire Fund, North East Innovation Fund and Northstar EIS Growth Fund.

The £22.5 million North East Spinout Inspire Fund is backed by the universities of Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside, as well as the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority through the North East Fund. It was established to help commercialise research emerging from the region’s universities.

Maven-managed regional funds also participated in the round. These included NPIF II – Maven Equity Finance, part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II, and the Finance Durham Fund, established by Durham County Council and overseen by Business Durham. New angel investors also provided funding.

The investment will also enable Magnitude Biosciences to access a £217,000 Innovate UK Investor Partnership grant.

Cllr Joe Quinn, Durham County Council Cabinet member for planning, investment and assets, said:

“Magnitude Biosciences is a strong example of the ambitious, science-led businesses the Finance Durham Fund was established to support. “This investment will help the company scale its technology, reach more customers and create skilled jobs in County Durham. We are particularly pleased to see that growth taking place at NETPark, where Magnitude Biosciences is part of a growing life sciences community and has access to the specialist space, facilities and connections it needs for its next stage of development.”

Building on investment in the business

The latest funding follows an initial investment from NPIF II in May 2025 and will support Magnitude Biosciences as it responds to growing demand for faster and more predictive approaches to early-stage drug discovery.

Sarah Newbould, Senior Investment Manager at the British Business Bank, said:

“We’re continuing to back the businesses that are driving innovation across the UK economy, with this new funding round helping to bring Magnitude Biosciences’ new technology to market. “With NPIF II providing initial investment in May last year, we’re able to support businesses throughout their journey, fuelling the Government’s Industrial Strategy and ensuring the North East’s life sciences sector continues to thrive.”

Dr Will Cousins, Investment Manager at Northstar Ventures, added:

“The North East continues to generate world-class innovations with the potential to compete on the global stage. Supporting ambitious companies with the capital they need to grow is essential if we are to unlock that potential. “Having worked closely with Magnitude Biosciences throughout its journey, we have seen first-hand the strength of the team, the technology and the opportunity ahead. We are proud to continue backing a business that is helping to shape the future of drug discovery.”

Magnitude Biosciences has delivered more than 120 projects for clients working across drug discovery, health and nutrition, and ageing biology. Its growth at NETPark strengthens County Durham’s expanding cluster of life sciences companies.

Find out more about the Finance Durham Fund and how Business Durham can help businesses access the funding, property and connections they need to grow.

 

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Durham joins £5.3m project to develop laser power technology

A laser pointing to the sky

Researchers in the Centre for Advanced Instrumentation, based at Orbit in NETPark, are helping to develop a pioneering laser power system that could keep high-altitude aircraft operating continuously.

The project has received £5.3m in funding from the Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA) through its Enduring Atmospheric Platforms (EndAP) programme. 

Working alongside Scalable Laser Limited and the University of Glasgow our researchers will help to develop “LIVINGSTON” (which stands for laser diodes and photo-voltaics for enduring atmospheric platform power beaming), an innovative laser power beaming system.