AI Innovation Researcher · SME Advocate · Ecosystem Builder

Building the future of AI-powered SMEs

Researching how AI, innovation ecosystems and digital transformation can help organisations grow, innovate and create regional impact.

Explore Research →Join the Ecosystem

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University of Surrey

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JatHub CIC · Founder

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AI × SME × Region

scroll · explore · build

/ 01 — The Challenge

The SME innovation gap is the defining productivity question of our decade.

Small and medium-sized enterprises power our economies — yet most are locked out of the AI, capital, and innovation infrastructure shaping the future. Closing this gap is not optional. It is the gateway to regional growth, resilience and shared prosperity.

99.9%

of UK businesses are SMEs

61%

of private-sector employment

<20%

have meaningfully adopted AI

≈40%

productivity gap vs. frontier firms

Capability

Uneven access to data, talent and digital infrastructure.

Confidence

Limited frameworks for safe, useful AI adoption.

Connection

Fragmented innovation ecosystems and weak knowledge flows.

/ 02 — Why I Do This

A journey from building things to building the conditions for everyone else to build.

Stage 01
Technology
Engineering systems & digital platforms.
→ next: Innovation
Stage 02
Innovation
Translating capability into new value.
→ next: Community
Stage 03
Community
Building places where founders thrive.
→ next: Research
Stage 04
Research
Evidence to guide policy and practice.
→ next: AI for SMEs
Stage 05
AI for SMEs
Operationalising AI where it matters most.
→ next: Technology

/ 03 — Research Lab

Seven nodes of an active research agenda.

status: live · iterating

AI Adoption in SMEs

Practical pathways from experiments to embedded capability.

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Innovation Diffusion

How new ideas, tools and practices spread across firms and regions.

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Productivity Growth

Unlocking the long-tail productivity opportunity in the real economy.

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Human–AI Collaboration

Designing roles, workflows and trust between people and intelligent systems.

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Digital Transformation

Beyond tools — culture, capability and operating models.

node · 05explore →

Innovation Ecosystems

Universities, SMEs, capital and community as a coupled system.

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Place-Based Growth

Regional advantage in an AI-shaped economy.

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/ 04 — AI for SME Futures

Five futures we can build on purpose.

Each is a research question and a design brief. None of them arrive by accident.

future · 01

AI-enabled SMEs

Every small firm with a co-pilot, an analyst and an engineer in their pocket.

adopt

augment

automate

amplify

advise

advance

future · 02

Smart local economies

Data, infrastructure and capability tuned to place — not extracted from it.

future · 03

Human–AI teams

Augmented workers leading higher-value, more meaningful work.

future · 04

Digital innovation ecosystems

Universities, founders and policy moving as one connected system.

future · 05

Community-driven growth

Innovation accountable to the people it claims to serve.

/ 05 — Innovation Ecosystem

A living map of who must move together.

Knowledge, capital and capability flowing across institutions, places and people.

● Universities

● SMEs

● Entrepreneurs

● Communities

● Policymakers

● Industry

/ 06 — Innovation Journeys

Not a portfolio. A set of ongoing experiments.

Movement

Founder · Community innovation hub

JatHub CIC

An evolving community organisation connecting founders, students and SMEs through events, mentoring and partnerships.

Capability

Programme design · Practice-led research

AI for SME Initiatives

Working with SMEs to translate AI from pilot to platform — through capability-building, experimentation and shared infrastructure.

Practice

Hackathons · Mentoring · Game Jams

Innovation Programmes

Creative formats that turn participants into practitioners — from Surrey Global Game Jam to industry hackathons.

People

Teaching · Supervision · Bootcamps

Educational Projects

Developing the next generation of innovators through immersive learning and live industry collaboration.

Inquiry

Productivity · Innovation diffusion

Research Activities

An emerging research agenda focused on how SMEs and regions absorb, adapt and benefit from new technologies.

Network

Partnerships · Public events

Community Engagement

Co-creating with industry partners including OVHcloud, Microsoft and NHS-linked initiatives to take research into the field.

/ 07 — PhD Journey

Researching the next generation of SME innovation.

A developing research agenda at the intersection of productivity, innovation diffusion, AI adoption and regional growth — grounded in real organisations, places and outcomes.

ProductivityInnovationDiffusionAI AdoptionRegional Growth

Question

How do SMEs build durable AI capability — and what conditions accelerate it?

Method

Mixed-methods, practice-engaged, working with firms and ecosystems in situ.

Outcome

Frameworks and evidence to guide founders, leaders and policymakers.

/ 08 — Speaking & Teaching