Aston University is first Midlands University to provide all staff with Microsoft 365 Copilot

Birmingham's Aston University is one of the first universities in the UK to offer Microsoft 365 Copilot to all staff with training and support, as well as providing access to Copilot Chat for all students.

The strategic partnership with the company which is the first announced by a Midlands university, will equip students with future-ready skills and will strengthen teaching and research. 

All staff will benefit from the full Microsoft 365 Copilot suite, including specialist agents such as Researcher and Analyst, and productivity apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint that have Copilot built in.

The full roll out will be completed by July 2026 and will give students the skills they need to flourish in an AI-driven economy. The initiative will also help the University’s staff to benefit from tools to become more innovative and operationally efficient, giving them more time for higher-value, strategic activity.

Professor Aleks Subic, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Aston University, told That's Technology: “Our collaboration with Microsoft illustrates Aston’s strategy to be a transformational university, embracing digital innovation and equipping our students and researchers with emerging AI technologies.

“Having access to this AI platform from a sector-leading company will help students and staff thrive. We are preparing our students for the work environment of the future which will enhance their careers and create significant benefits across our research and innovation ecosystem.”

Jen Wyatt, director of education, Microsoft UK, said: “By embedding AI across the University, Aston is strengthening the student experience and accelerating the University’s research and innovation. It will help staff reduce routine workloads, move faster on high-value priorities, and equip students with the future-ready skills they will need in an AI-enabled economy.”

The University will be working with Microsoft to ensure transparency around environmental and wider impacts. Microsoft has stated it is committed to be classed as carbon negative, water positive and zero waste by 2030.

The AI roll-out will enable researchers to accelerate interdisciplinary discovery and analysis at scale, while reducing time spent on routine tasks. Last year Aston University offered new AI fellowships to lead projects that will deliver real-world impact across society, business, and industry. The interdisciplinary positions are based within its business school, The Sir Peter Rigby Digital Futures Institute and its School of Computer Science and Digital Technologies.

aston.ac.uk

Government’s science minister backs Aston University-led neuromorphic computing research

The UK Multidisciplinary Centre for Neuromorphic Computing is headed by the Aston Institute of Photonic Technologies (AIPT).

The consortium of seven universities and 22 non-academic partners was officially launched at the House of Lords

“Neuromorphic computing, inspired by the brain's really remarkable energy efficiency, could fundamentally transform how AI operate” said Lord Patrick Vallance.

A new research centre led by Aston University could be key to tackling the huge consumption of energy by data centres in the UK.

The UK Multidisciplinary Centre for Neuromorphic Computing is headed by the Aston Institute of Photonic Technologies (AIPT) and was officially launched at the House of Lords on 21 October.

Neuromorphic computing seeks to replicate how 

the brain functions and its structure and apply that knowledge to develop future computing systems. Currently scientists lack a deep, system-level understanding of how the human organ computes at cellular and network scales.

The researchers within the consortium of seven universities, alongside 22 non-academic partners, will aim to tackle that challenge directly, blending stem-cell-derived human neuron experiments with advanced computational models, development of new materials, low-power algorithms and novel photonic - or light-based - hardware.

As well as speakers from politics and science, a message from the Minister for Science, Innovation, Research and Nuclear, Lord Patrick Vallance was delivered to the guests at the Houses of Parliament reception. Speaking via video he said that he believed the initiative could be key to tackling the issue of massive energy use by data centres. Current government figures show that they use about 2.5% of the UK's electricity, a figure projected to rise significantly with the further advances in AI.

Lord Vallance said: “Data centres demand enormous energy and water resources and left unchecked. Without thinking about how we can manage this and innovate we would threaten clean energy and net zero ambitions.

He added: “Future computing paradigms offer a potential path to not only more ways of thinking about how to compute but also overcoming some of the traditional limitations of traditional computing, particularly in scenarios where energy efficiency or new capabilities are important. It seems to me the centre embodies that ambition; neuromorphic computing, inspired by the brain's really remarkable energy efficiency, could fundamentally transform how AI operates.”

The centre received £5.6 million funding over four years from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. However, its director, Professor Sergei Turitsyn of AIPT told launch guests that it is his ambition for the centre to be financially sustainable beyond its initial EPSRC funding period. He also stated that he believes that the centre will be instrumental in putting the UK at the forefront of the neuromorphic computing research.

He said: “The ultimate goal is to build a new UK brand in neuromorphic computing, working closely with the recently funded UK network project NeuMat and the Innovation and Knowledge Centre Neuroware.

“Some people ask ‘what exactly is neuromorphic computing? Arguably, there no universal answer, and this is exactly the point about our centre. Some people tell you it is nature-or brain-inspired, others stress non digital features and some focus on energy saving or analogue signal processing.

"That's why we need researchers from different disciplines to work together and that is why this group of universities and industrial partners will start this broad approach, with neuroscientists, working with experts in material science, algorithms, electronics and photonics.”

The centre will be led by the AIPT and will include world-leading researchers from Aston University, the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, the University of Southampton, Queen Mary University of London, Loughborough University and the University of Strathclyde. The centre will be supported by a broad network of industry partners to enhance the centre’s impact on society. These include Microsoft Research, Thales, BT, QinetiQ, Nokia Bell Labs, Hewlett Packard Labs, Leonardo, Northrop Grumman and a number of small to medium enterprises.

Water use in data centres: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/688cb407dc6688ed50878367/Water_use_in_data_centre_and_AI_report.pdf

https://www.aston.ac.uk/research/eps/aipt