TLDR: The University of Bristol’s JOINER (Joint Open Infrastructure for Networks Research) Platform has been honored with the AI Award for High Tech & Telecom at the National AI Awards 2025. This prestigious recognition, announced on October 16, 2025, highlights the project’s role as a crucial testbed for developing and trialling AI solutions in next-generation telecommunications, further solidifying Bristol’s standing as a leader in AI innovation.
Bristol, UK – The University of Bristol has once again demonstrated its pioneering role in artificial intelligence, with its JOINER (Joint Open Infrastructure for Networks Research) Platform receiving the coveted AI Award for High Tech & Telecom at the National AI Awards 2025. The award was presented on Thursday, October 16, further cementing the University’s reputation as an AI trailblazer.
The JOINER Platform, spearheaded by the University of Bristol’s Smart Internet Lab, was recognized for its innovative approach in providing a robust testbed for the development and real-world trial of advanced AI solutions. This achievement follows the University of Bristol being crowned ‘AI University of the Year’ in 2024, underscoring its continuous leadership in AI research and education, which is actively shaping the future of technology and communication.
Professor Dimitra Simeonidou, Director of the Smart Internet Lab at the University of Bristol, emphasized the critical role of AI in future networks. “To build the next generation of telecoms, we must harness AI,” Professor Simeonidou stated. “With JOINER, we’re proud to lead as the UK’s native-AI network experimentation platform, and we’re honoured to receive recognition in the form of a National AI Award.”
Professor Evelyn Welch, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Bristol, expressed immense pride in the accomplishment. “We are thrilled that the Smart Internet Lab’s JOINER project has won the National AI Awards 2025 High Tech & Telecom category, reinforcing the University of Bristol’s position as a global leader in AI innovation,” Professor Welch commented. She also highlighted the University’s consistent success, noting, “This marks our second consecutive year winning this prestigious award, following our REASON project’s triumph in the category last year.”
JOINER was selected from a strong field of four finalists, earning praise for its mission of experimentation, collaboration, and innovation. The platform provides the necessary scale and openness to accelerate AI-native network innovation, supporting first-of-its-kind demonstrations of interconnected AI infrastructure in real-world applications. It serves as a unique experimental environment for developing and testing AI solutions for future networks and showcasing their performance. The judges specifically lauded its efforts to make real-world testing more accessible, thereby accelerating the impact of telecommunications technologies.
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Notable examples of solutions developed through JOINER include agentic AI and Hypervisor as a Service (HaaS) solutions, contributed by industry partners Madevo and Weaver Labs. The project receives vital funding from the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Department for Science.
