As part of IT Services ongoing Cloud @ Manchester initiative, we are inviting researchers to submit ideas for Cloud Research Proofs of Concept (PoCs) using Amazon Web Services (AWS) - providing a fast, secure way to test research ideas and explore scalable cloud computing environments before committing to long‑term investment.

These time‑boxed PoCs are designed to help research teams quickly assess feasibility, performance, and cost across areas such as data‑intensive workloads, AI/ML, scalable compute, and emerging digital research methods, supported by Research and Cloud Engineering specialists. The aim is to move from idea to a working environment in days rather than weeks, while ensuring security, compliance, and sustainability by design.

We are keen to hear proposals that would benefit from rapid experimentation or exploration of cloud‑based approaches to support research delivery, strengthen funding bids, or inform future platform decisions.

Submit a Cloud Research PoC idea

Please submit your proposal via the Connect portal. It's a very lightweight form - just enough to give us an idea of your research and potential benefits.

If successful, your team will work collaboratively with IT Services to define success criteria, deliver the PoC, and capture learning to inform next steps.

If you have questions or would like an informal discussion before submitting, please do get in touch with Alex Goffe (Deputy CIO) and/or Robert Haines (Director of Research IT).