Miami spice peps University of Cambridge collaboration with The Nobel Sustainability Trust
NST has chosen the University's Frontier Technologies Lab as a selected strategic academic partner from 2026. The partnership will focus on frontier technologies, AI governance, sustainability innovation and future global solutions.
The Frontier Technologies Laboratory (FTL) is an ecosystem of Cambridge-based academics and societies experimenting with novel technologies, alongside its academic and industry partners. It is collaborating with members from the University of Oxford, Harvard and MIT to develop an ‘Open Innovation Ecosystem’.
The Nobel Sustainability Trust, founded by members of the Nobel family, was created out of deep concern for the devastation of the world’s vital natural and non-renewable resources. Over-consumption has led to rising global temperatures and pollution of land, food, water, and air.
The founders believe that the economic and social health of civilisation will largely depend on the availability of renewable energy and the adoption of sustainable approaches in agriculture, forestry, industrial manufacturing, and water reclamation. Achieving this will require substantial intellectual and financial efforts. The aim of NST is to contribute to this global endeavour.
It announced the Cambridge University collaboration at its annual summit in Miami which brought together global leaders, policymakers, scientists, innovators, and entrepreneurs to accelerate solutions for a sustainable future.
The announcement was delivered by Simran Chana on behalf of the University of Cambridge and FTL. He explained that FTL works by enabling students and staff within the university and beyond to explore what interests them most.
Aggregating clubs, societies and communities, FTL provides key mentors, educators and networks from industry to support talented individuals in independent research or commercial venture spin-outs. This work tends to be separate from their core studies and research.
The lab is structured to host projects across seven verticals. When a project is started, or brought into the labs, it is assigned to one of the verticals as its core (although one project may be relevant to multiple verticals).
In the spirit of the “Open Innovation Ecosystem” many independent labs/ projects function together to stimulate cross-sector innovation.