About our digital, technology and creative research
The Creative Industries sector is a dynamic growth engine: it contributes 2.4 million jobs and £124 billion GVA to the UK economy, generates knowledge spillovers that drive innovation, and has been identified as one of eight “growth driving” sectors in the government’s industrial strategy.
At NTU, we are committed to ensuring that the creative industries continue to thrive in an ever-changing world, reinforcing their position as an indispensable part of society and culture. This includes investing in our new flagship Design & Digital Arts building and other innovative facilities, as well as developing multidisciplinary PhD and research projects across the school and in collaboration with external partners.
The research in this theme aims both to understand and support the tech-driven creative industries, as well as innovating and evaluating entirely new experiences and services using emerging technology. Some of the important research areas include, but are not limited to: artificial intelligence including generative AI and autonomous systems; immersive experiences including virtual, augmented and mixed reality; wearable and personal technology including smart textiles; digitally augmented live performances and linear media including music, film, theatre and virtual production; digital design and art; digital games and online experiences; sensors, actuators and physical interaction technologies such as robots; and the engineering of new materials, optics and photonics.
The research equally covers social and societal issues relating to the creative industries, including: new business models in the face of emerging technologies; evolving legal aspects including copyright and creator’s rights; audience insights and experiences; analysing, critiquing and preserving digital and technology-related art and culture; and supporting and developing the roles and capacity of new and established creatives.
Key areas of focus for 2025-26
For the 2025-2026 PhD cohort we are focusing on three sub-themes:
1. AI and creativity
Artificial intelligence (AI) has already had an enormous impact on the creative industries. From generating text, images and music to enabling entirely new business models, AI will be shaping how humans create and consume media, art and entertainment. This sub-theme will explore how these new technologies shape the future of creativity, where AI might become an enabler or partner in the creative process, as well as considering the potentially positive and negative social, ethical, legal and economic implications.
2. Immersive performances and experiences
Immersive technologies such as virtual, augmented and mixed reality, as well as new ways to create content such as virtual production, are making possible revolutionary new ways of both interactive and linear performances. From music, theatre, dance, fine art and interactive storytelling to state-of-the-art film and TV production, this sub-theme will explore new and innovative forms of performance and immersive experiences across any kind of media. The research can include perspectives of performers as well as audiences and consumers.
3. Creative tech for wellbeing*
New technologies have the potential to help us be fitter, more physically active and more mentally healthy. They can support mindfulness, exercise, outdoor life and many other aspects of wellbeing. This can include games that encourage physical activities, wearable devices such as fitness bands that support exercise, and physiological sensors such as heart rate and EEG that help users connect with their bodies and minds. This theme will investigate how technology can support our health and wellbeing in fun and creative ways for all kinds of users.
*Please note that this theme is about everyday activities for a happy and healthy life and specifically not for sports performance or medical intervention, which might be covered by other Strategic Research Themes.
Theme Directors
Lars Erik Holmquist
Lars Erik Holmquist is Professor of Design and Innovation at Nottingham Trent University. He is an internationally leading researcher in human-computer interaction (HCI), interaction design and ubiquitous computing (ubicomp).
Jordan Bird
Dr Jordan Bird is a Senior Lecturer in Computer Science at Nottingham Trent University. His research aligns with the Computational Intelligence and Applications Research Group (CIA) and the Interactive Systems Research Group (ISRG).
Associated Research Centres
CBIT - Centre for Business and Industry Transformation
Conducting world-leading & high-impact research in business transformation, building ventures to transform industries, empowering disruptive entrepreneurs through personalised education.
Centre for Law, Emerging Technologies and Business
The Centre for Law, Emerging Technologies and Business (C-LEB) was established in 2025, building upon Nottingham Law School's strong research foundation in the legal aspects of emerging technologies, and complementing existing strengths across business law, broadly defined.
Centre for Legal Education
Nottingham Law School's Centre for Legal Education drives the Law School's excellence and innovation in academic and professional legal education.
Centre for Policy, Citizenship and Society
The Centre for Policy, Citizenship and Society (CPCS) conducts research that seeks to understand the ways in which society operates, especially in relation to policy, theory and practice in social contexts.
Centre for Research in History, Heritage and Memory Studies
The Centre connects NTU researchers and projects in policy, religion, conflict, race, gender, memory & welfare through varied methodologies & knowledge exchange
Centre for Research in Literature Linguistics and Culture
The Centre for Research in Literature, Linguistics and Culture is a multi- and interdisciplinary hub that promotes research innovation across Literary Studies, Linguistics, and Media, Film and TV Studies.
BE:SMART
We bring together expertise in architecture, engineering, computing, design, and real estate economics to address urgent challenges in urbanisation, climate resilience, and digital transformation.
Fashion and Textile Research Centre
Representing a complex field in a global context, research in this centre focuses on cultures, heritage, design, business, sustainability and advanced textiles.
Imaging, Materials and Engineering Centre (IMEC)
To solve modern engineering problems requires an interdisciplinary approach. At IMEC this principle is embedded in the way we do research in the applied sciences and engineering, with our strengths in imaging, materials, and smart and medical technologies.
Product Innovation and Intelligent Design
The Product Innovation and Intelligent Design research group drives global impact through AI-powered product innovation, sustainable design, and cutting-edge research for a circular economy.
Smart Sensing Lab
NTU's Smart Sensing Lab undertakes research into affective computing, edge computing, AI, sensing technologies, mobile development and wearable development.
Research Centre for the Creative Industries
The Research Centre for the Creative Industries (RCCI) explores how a breadth of creative arts and disciplines can address local and global societal challenges.
Associated Research Groups
Advanced Optics and Photonics Group
Advanced Textiles Research Group
Cognitive Computing and Brain Informatics Research Group (CCBI)
Computational Intelligence and Applications Research Group (CIA)
Imaging and Sensing for Archaeology, Art History and Conservation (ISAAC)
Interactive Systems Research Group (ISRG)
Language, Identities and Institutions Research Group
Media and Film Cultures
Medical Engineering Design Research Group
TILT Practice and Scholarship Groups
Connected Experiences Lab (CXL)
Discover more about NTU's research community
Research Reimagined
To us, research is about more than writing papers and proposing new ideas. By daring to think differently, we’re disrupting the research landscape and finding the answers to the questions that really matter.
Re:view
Professor Song Wu, from the School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment, has created a new digital tool in collaboration with industrial partners that is capable of visualising intricate datasets and performing virtual bridge examinations.