JLR said it would focus on inspiring the next generation of engineers, from schoolchildren to undergraduates, and complement the company's product research and development centres in Gaydon and Whitley.
The 33,000 sq m NAIC is a partnership between the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), JLR, Tata Motors European Technical Centre and UK government's Higher Education Funding Council England.
Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Group), Cyrus Mistry, Tata chairman and JLR chief executive officer Ralf Speth joined Professor Lord Bhattacharyya, chairman and founder of WMG to unveil the foundation stone for the NAIC.
It will become the hub for JLR's advanced research and will boast cutting-edge workshops, laboratories, virtual engineering suites and advanced powertrain facilities, equipped to enable a full range of design, visualisation and prototyping activities.
The development of the NAIC project is the next stage in JLR's strategy to develop its global r&d and engineering capability. Jaguar Land Rover today employs more than 8,000 engineers and designers in the UK and is investing more than ever before in new technologies, skills and facilities. In the financial year 2015/16, the business said it would invest up to £3.8 billion in product creation.
Speth said: "The NAIC will serve as a generator of new skills and new thinking, providing a perfect, collaborative environment in which to learn, research and develop the designs and technologies that will shape the vehicles and personal mobility solutions of the future.
"As well as helping JLR create key technologies that will deliver new experiences for our customers; smarter, safer and more connected cars and a low-carbon future, the centre will deliver wider benefits to the UK automotive industry. The NAIC will have a significant role inspiring the engineers of tomorrow and will help develop the skills we need the UK to nurture and develop to ensure we remain globally competitive."
Around 1,000 skilled people will work at the NAIC. It will enable JLR to co-locate 600 of its engineers, researchers and technologists to work collaboratively with academics and r&d specialists from across the automotive supply chain.
