UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has announced that two NI consortia have been selected out of a total of 17 projects across the UK which will receive up to £50k each to lead development of a new regional research consortium.
The two successful NI projects are a Smart Nano-Manufacturing Corridor led by Seagate and a Precision Biomarkers and Therapeutics Consortium led by Queen’s University Belfast.
The shared centres created through the Smart Nano-Manufacturing Corridor (SNMC) will bring together organisations from across the Belfast-Londonderry Corridor, connecting experts in photonics design, prototyping and mass manufacturing, to speed up the development of new nano-scale optical components to power our future digital devices. The SNMC will adopt game-changing prototyping and manufacturing methods, creating economic benefit for Northern Ireland.
The Northern Ireland Precision Biomarkers and Therapeutics Consortium (NIPBT) will build on the region’s existing strengths in digital health and pharmaceuticals. It will bring together partners from industry and academia to increase research, encourage innovation and make Northern Ireland’s life and health science sector more productive. It will develop new, more cost-effective targeted drugs and antibodies and new ways of diagnosing cancer and other conditions. The long-term aim is to attract and secure highly skilled jobs to the region to enhance its competitiveness and prosperity.
Dr Robert Grundy, Matrix Chair and Interim CEO at Health Innovation Research Alliance Northern Ireland, said: “The award of this first phase of funding for the Northern Ireland Precision Biomarkers and Therapeutics Consortium is exciting and will act as a catalyst to exploit NI’s fundamental capabilities towards a significant engine driving diagnostic and therapeutic discoveries and innovation.”
UKRI lead on the Strength in Places Fund, David Sweeney, said: “Strength in Places is a flagship fund for UKRI. We welcome the focus of the R&D Roadmap in unlocking economic opportunities around local economy in more places around the UK. I am delighted with the range of bids funded across the UK in the second wave of Strength in Places that will foster the local ecosystems to support innovation and sustained growth and strengthen collaboration between industry and our world-class research base.”