Re-shaping the creative industries in Wales

USW has played a key role in advancing Research, Development and Innovation (RD&I) capacity across Wales and the UK’s creative industries through three landmark initiatives: Audience of the Future, Clwstwr, and Media Cymru.

creative industries

By combining academic expertise in screen innovation, digital storytelling, audience research, and emerging technologies, with industry collaboration, research at USW is helping to reshape and future-proof Wales’s creative sector.

For Audience of the Future the team at USW collaborated with Tiny Rebel Games, Sugar Creative, Potato, and Aardman to develop Wallace and Gromit: The Big Fix Up, a multi-user augmented reality experience. USW researchers led product evaluation, user testing and student internships, as well as delivering masterclasses to students, helping shape future-proof practices for immersive storytelling. The project demonstrated how academic insight can enhance commercial creative products and set new standards for audience engagement.

Clwstwr (2018–2023), funded through AHRC’s Creative Industries Clusters Programme and led by Cardiff University, aimed to embed RD&I into media production in South Wales. Prior to Clwstwr, many companies lacked structured approaches to R&D. USW’s co-investigator team, which drew on expertise in media policy, screen production, creative technology, games design and virtual reality, was instrumental in supporting 36 companies across 49 projects. These included Gorilla TV, Cloth Cat, Sugar Creative, and Wales Interactive.

Clwstwr invested in 118 innovation projects, contributing over £20 million in additional turnover and more than 400 new jobs. Between 2019 and 2022, it accounted for £1 in every £13 of annual turnover growth in Wales’s creative industries. Subsequently, companies supported by Clwstwr have since raised over £5 million for development and are now more likely to undertake RD&I activities using rigorous processes.

BY EMBEDDING RD&I INTO PRODUCTION PROCESSES, SUPPORTING HUNDREDS OF PROFESSIONALS AND BUSINESSES, AND INFLUENCING NATIONAL POLICY, USW HAS HELPED TRANSFORM WALES INTO A GLOBALLY COMPETITIVE HUB FOR MEDIA INNOVATION.

Richard Hurford

Co-Lead of the Creative Industries Research and Innovation Group

USW has also led the delivery of key research reports including Screen Work 2020, Screen Survey Wales 2021, and Games Survey Wales 2021. These reports filled critical data gaps, informed policy, and directly influenced the Welsh Government’s £3 million Creative Skills Fund in 2023/24 and 2024/25, which supports around 30 projects across the sector.

Media Cymru is a £50m programme led by Cardiff University and builds on Clwstwr’s success. Based on the insights derived from the first annual pan-Wales Screen Industries Workforce Survey (launched by USW in 2022), USW leads the Skills & Training work package, delivering a strategic programme to future-proof Wales’s screen workforce. This includes the ‘Virtual Production Fellowship Wales’, as well as courses in sustainability, data management, and the first Accessible Futures Summit.

By June 2026, more than 300 professionals had engaged in Media Cymru training, with six Sustainability Coordinators placed in production companies to embed green practices.

USW’s research continues to shape inclusive, responsive training models that meet fast-evolving industry needs. This work is also significant for its real-world impact: creating jobs, driving sustainability, improving inclusivity, and strengthening the economy.