Creative coastal innovation
Where creative technology meets marine, environmental and offshore innovation
Many of the hardest challenges facing these sectors are not purely technical. New systems and complex environmental evidence need to be simulated, visualised, understood and used by people. Coastal transitions depend on public confidence, participation and skills.
At Plymouth, human-centred practice and creative technology are increasingly applied to these challenges, connecting immersive environments, simulation, data visualisation and participatory design with work in marine autonomy, offshore energy, environmental science, ocean engagement and coastal change.
Our expertise
The UK’s creative industries are a powerful engine of economic growth, generating more than £124 billion each year and playing a vital role in the nation’s Modern Industrial Strategy.
For the University, this strength is reflected in expanding capabilities at the intersection of creativity, technology and the marine environment - using immersive technologies, simulation, visualisation and human-centred design to make complex systems visible, understandable and usable.
From subsea autonomous operations and floating wind farms in the Celtic Sea to marine ecosystems under pressure, our expertise in creative technologies is helping people see, experience and interact with environments they may never directly encounter - supporting better understanding, training, decision-making and innovation.
The University has built this capability over more than a decade through strategic programmes and initiatives, including
iMayflower , the
South West Creative Technology Network ,
Cultivator , and
Engaging Students in Knowledge Exchange .
Collectively representing more than £15 million in investment, these programmes have developed substantial expertise in creative business support, immersive technologies, digital fabrication, creative sector leadership, and knowledge exchange. They have also strengthened connections – and forged exciting new collaborations – between the University, industry, and local communities
Our current activity is an extension of this and combines creative practice with simulation, visualisation, and participatory approaches to address challenges in ocean engagement, environmental communication, autonomous systems, training, and coastal change.
This interdisciplinary capability enables exploration, testing, communication, and application of technologies and transitions in practical contexts, while fostering meaningful collaboration among researchers, industry, communities, and other stakeholders.
This is a strategic commitment from the University, not an experiment. The creative economy is an economic force with real growth, real capability, and real potential to transform how other sectors work.
Professor Chris Bennewith
Interim Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education & Student Experience & Executive Dean
Creativity is a fundamental driver of innovation. It's particularly powerful where it helps reduce uncertainty. This is not about turning creatives into a service department for other sectors. It's about creativity as an essential enabler for growth and innovation across the blue economy.
Rupert Lorraine
Sector Lead (Creative Economy)
Why Plymouth?
Plymouth offers a uniquely rich environment for innovation, underpinned by its natural assets, a concentration of marine research and technology, and
growing strengths in the creative industries.
Plymouth’s growing importance as the National Centre for Marine Autonomy and as part of the
Defence Growth Deal area complements this, creating opportunities to develop and test technologies across both civil and defence contexts. Together, these assets, capabilities and communities make Plymouth a distinctive place to connect scientific and technical innovation with creative approaches and real-world marine and environmental challenges.
Research highlights
Making the Invisible, Visible
A creative collaboration between the University of Plymouth and Soundview Media combines underwater cinematography with real-time 3D visualisation to bring the ocean's hidden world to life.
Available as a film and an immersive dome experience, the production takes audiences beneath the ocean's surface to explore Smart Sound Plymouth and Smart Sound Connect Subsurface — the UK's pioneering subsea testbed for marine autonomy and AI-enabled ocean technologies.
Our experts
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![Professor Katharine Willis Professor of Smart Cities and Communities]( "Professor Katharine Willis")
Professor Katharine Willis
Professor of Smart Cities and Communities
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![Professor Misha Myers Head of School of Art, Design & Architecture]( "Professor Misha Myers")
Professor Misha Myers
Head of School of Art, Design & Architecture
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![Dr Alejandro Veliz Reyes Associate Professor in Digital Design]( "Dr Alejandro Veliz Reyes")
Dr Alejandro Veliz Reyes
Associate Professor in Digital Design
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![Mr Joel Hodges Lecturer in Game Arts & Design]( "Mr Joel Hodges")
Mr Joel Hodges
Lecturer in Game Arts & Design
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![Mr Musaab Garghouti Lecturer in 3D Visualisation, Immersion and Simulation]( "Mr Musaab Garghouti")
Mr Musaab Garghouti
Lecturer in 3D Visualisation, Immersion and Simulation
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![Mr Luke Christison Researcher - Data Visualisation]( "Mr Luke Christison")
Mr Luke Christison
Researcher - Data Visualisation
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![Rupert Lorraine Sector Lead (Creative Economy)]( "Rupert Lorraine")
Rupert Lorraine
Sector Lead (Creative Economy)
Related study opportunities
Undergraduate:
Postgraduate:
These programmes sit alongside Plymouth's established strengths in marine and ocean science, computing and cyber security, engineering and data science, which together provide the breadth of talent behind coastal innovation.
Collaborate with us
Have an idea, challenge or opportunity that could draw on these capabilities?
Our Strategic Partnerships and Business Development Team have extensive experience of working with partners to develop and deliver innovative solutions to a range of challenges. We can connect you with the right researchers and facilities, and advise on the most appropriate routes to collaboration, including research and knowledge exchange, consultancy, facility access, joint funding bids, student projects and placements, CPD, and commercialisation support.
Contact us today:
Strategic Partnerships and Business Development Team: partnerships@plymouth.ac.uk
Rupert Lorraine
Sector Lead (Creative Economy)
Ms Sarah Fear
Sector Lead (Marine and Low Carbon)
Our partners
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![Plymouth Culture]( "Plymouth Culture")
Plymouth Culture
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![Real Ideas]( "Real Ideas")
Real Ideas
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![Theatre Royal Plymouth]( "Theatre Royal Plymouth")
Theatre Royal Plymouth
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![The Box, Plymouth]( "The Box, Plymouth")
The Box, Plymouth
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![Ocean Conservation Trust]( "Ocean Conservation Trust")
Ocean Conservation Trust
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![Nudge Community Builders]( "Nudge Community Builders")
Nudge Community Builders
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![Take A Part]( "Take A Part")
Take A Part
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![Creative UK]( "Creative UK")
Creative UK
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![Plymouth Sound National Marine Park logo]( "Plymouth Sound National Marine Park")
Plymouth Sound National Marine Park
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![Plymouth City Council]( "Plymouth City Council")
Plymouth City Council
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![The Alan Turing Institute]( "The Alan Turing Institute")
The Alan Turing Institute
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![Plymouth Octopus Project]( "Plymouth Octopus Project")
Plymouth Octopus Project
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![Team Plymouth logo]( "Team Plymouth")
Team Plymouth
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![Plymouth Marine Laboratory]( "Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML)")
Plymouth Marine Laboratory
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![Marine Biological Association]( "Marine Biological Association")
Marine Biological Association
Plymouth Culture
Real Ideas
Theatre Royal Plymouth
The Box, Plymouth
Ocean Conservation Trust
Nudge Community Builders
Take A Part
Creative UK
Plymouth Sound National Marine Park
Plymouth City Council
The Alan Turing Institute
Plymouth Octopus Project
Team Plymouth
Plymouth Marine Laboratory
Marine Biological Association