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Research Councils UK have announced the universities that have been successful in their bids to play host to digital "hubs" as part of the Digital Britain project. Unfortunately, none of the winning bids were from the West Midlands - and 2 universities in Birmingham have announced their disappointment at losing out.

The University of Birmingham and Birmingham City University, along with the University of Warwick, led the West Midlands plea to be the hosts of these digital "hubs". The "hubs" will focus on developing digital technology to transform the lives of the elderly, those with disabilities and rural communities. These plan to build on making broadband available to all across the country, along with the larger investment ever made by research councils in creating a digital Britain to transform all aspects of business, society and government.

The winning universities were in Nottingham, Newcastle and Aberdeen - they will receive a third each of the £36 million fund this project has been given by the Research Councils UK.

However, the 3 universities that lost out from the West Midlands have stayed positive.

The University of Birmingham were pleased to have reached the interview stage of the bidding process, especially against such stong competition.

The University of Warwick have their highly regarded £12.5 million WMG Digital Lab - recently visited by Tom Watson MP, Minister for Digital Engagement.

Birmingham City University will continue to progress their digital technology research area, and will strive to obtain additional funding for this area.