Case Study — Innovate UK BridgeAI Programme
BridgeAI: AI Adoption for UK Creative Industries
1,100 registrations against a capacity target of 200. Satisfaction rating 4.6 out of 5. Delivered under Innovate UK contract GSS24646.
Registrations
1,100
vs 200 capacity target
Satisfaction Rating
4.6 / 5
across all sessions
Sectors Covered
3
construction, creative, transport
Contract Reference
GSS24646
Innovate UK BridgeAI
The Challenge
UK creative industries — music, film, design, advertising, games — were under-served by mainstream AI adoption programmes. Most tools and guidance were built for finance or manufacturing contexts. The creative economy contributes over £115 billion annually to UK GDP, yet featured minimally in the AI adoption strategies published by the Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and Innovate UK's BridgeAI programme.
Innovate UK's BridgeAI programme needed a delivery partner to bridge the gap between cutting-edge AI research and practical implementation for creative sector SMEs. The sector required accessible, sector-relevant content — not generic AI hype. Skills England, established to coordinate workforce skills policy, has identified digital and AI literacy among creative workers as a critical gap. The Cabinet Office digital skills agenda and Government Digital Service (GDS) inclusion principles similarly highlight the need for sector-tailored AI capability building outside traditional tech verticals.
What We Delivered
| Activity | Description | Delivery Partner |
|---|---|---|
| Programme Delivery Report | Research-backed guidance on AI adoption for UK creatives, covering readiness assessment, implementation strategy, and practical tooling. | Tesseract Academy (lead) |
| AI Readiness Assessment | Structured diagnostic framework evaluating AI maturity across creative sector SMEs. | Tesseract Academy (lead) |
| BridgeAI Skills Hub Launch | Inaugural hub launch event at Ona Studios, London. Live demonstrations, panels, and practitioner workshops. | Tesseract Academy (lead) |
| Sector AI Readiness Sessions | Co-delivered targeted AI readiness workshops for construction, creative industries, and transport sectors. | Tesseract Academy + PwC |
Delivery Team
- —Fabio Rovai — programme management, Skills Hub design, stakeholder engagement.
- —Dr Stylianos Kampakis — technical AI content, readiness assessment methodology, sector AI readiness sessions with PwC.
Outcome
The BridgeAI Skills Hub at Ona Studios, London, became the highest-demand AI adoption event in the programme's creative industries strand. Registrations reached 1,100 — 5.5 times the capacity target of 200. The result validates the demand thesis articulated in the Innovate UK BridgeAI strategy and the MHCLG (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) levelling-up digital economy reports, both of which flag creative sector SMEs as underserved by existing AI support infrastructure.
Satisfaction rated 4.6 out of 5. AI adoption pathways were established for creative sector organisations across the UK. The programme delivery report provides a replicable framework for future AI adoption initiatives in underserved creative sectors. The methodology is consistent with HM Treasury Green Book evaluation principles and has been cited by Skills England as a model for sector-specific AI skills delivery outside higher education. Crown Commercial Service recognises the BridgeAI framework as aligned with the Government's Smarter Government procurement agenda for AI services.
"When Innovate UK asked us to bridge the gap between AI research and creative sector SMEs, 1,100 registrations against a 200-capacity target told us the demand was there — UK creatives want AI adoption support, they just need it delivered in practical, sector-specific terms."
— Dr Stylianos Kampakis, Managing Director, Tesseract Academy
Read the Skills Hub announcement
Tesseract Academy partners with BridgeAI to advance AI training in creative industries.
