Norwich Research Park gets £12.5m investment
pharmafile | October 3, 2014 | News story | Medical Communications, Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | BBSRC, The Genome Analysis Centre (TGAC), The Sainsbury Laboratory, jic, norwich research park, the Institute of Food Research and the University of East Anglia (UEA). Plant Bioscience Limited, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and The SAW Trust
The government has injected £12.5 million into the research institutions of Norwich Research Park to fund its doctoral training programme.
The money from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) will aid 125 PhD students with their work over the next five years.
Five partners from across the park, which is one of Europe’s leading centres for research in food, health and the environment, made the application.
The John Innes Centre (JIC) led the bid, supported by The Sainsbury Laboratory, The Genome Analysis Centre (TGAC), the Institute of Food Research and the University of East Anglia (UEA). Plant Bioscience Limited, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and The SAW Trust are also associate partners.
These partners have also contributed £3 million to the programme themselves, increasing the total number of student being trained to 156.
This new funding builds on a previous £4 million investment from the BBSRC made in 2012, which supported 39 studentships over three years, and a 2011 investment of £26 million to support innovation and generate economic growth and job creation.
Norwich Research Park itself is a science and innovation business park that aims to support spin-out and start-up companies, by attracting inward investment from large corporate organisations involved in science and technology.
The park is a partnership between the University of East Anglia, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, and four independent research institutions – the JIC, the Institute of Food Research, TGAC, and the Sainsbury Laboratory linked to the Gatsby Charitable Foundation.
All of these research institutions except the Sainsbury Laboratory are funded by the BBSRC, which is also a partner of the park, as is the John Innes Foundation.
Commenting on the investment, Dr Sally Ann Forsyth, CEO of Norwich Research Park, says: “A key decision for businesses in where they locate themselves in these sectors is the access they will have to leading research in their field and importantly, to a skilled workforce that is critical in driving commercial success. This investment further boosts both of these credentials.”
Business Secretary Vince Cable adds: “The UK punches far beyond its weight in science and innovation globally, which is a credit to our talented scientists and first-class universities. This new funding will safeguard Britain’s status as a world leader in life sciences and agricultural technology.”
Dr Celia Caulcott, the BBSRC’s executive director of innovation and skills, further comments: “Bioscience is having a massive impact on many aspects of our lives. We need to maintain our leading position in global bioscience by ensuring that the next generation of scientists have the best training and skills. This next generation of scientists are our future and we must invest in them now.”
Norwich Research Park’s most recent addition is its £11.5 million Centrum building, and there are plans to open a virtual technology centre and a molecular farming facility in the future – all also funded by the BBSRC.
George Underwood
