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Loughborough awarded £3 million to boost economic and social prosperity

Posted on 07/04/2009

Loughborough University Website

Loughborough awarded £3 million to boost economic and social prosperity

Businesses in the UK will benefit from increased opportunities to engage Loughborough University’s academics in collaborative research projects following a £3 million investment in the University by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

Loughborough was awarded one of only 12 Knowledge Transfer Accounts (KTAs) in the UK.  The significant investment will be used to build on Loughborough’s strong links with industry through a range of activities, including two-way secondments, continuing professional development and opportunities to exploit leading-edge research through licensing or new business creation.

Activities will focus on areas of strategic national importance such as healthcare, transport and energy.  The KTA will provide opportunities throughout the lifecycle of research activities, ranging from workshops to scope out significant new research areas to sharing the findings with user organisations.

The bid was overseen by Dr Kathryn Walsh, the University’s Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor (Enterprise).  She said: “The EPSRC’s considerable investment is an excellent acknowledgement of our long established tradition of engaging with industry, commerce, social enterprises, the public sector and government to bring about real economic and social change.”

She continued:  “We are also committed to developing people, through fellowships to reward our most promising new researchers and internationally esteemed academics, and by offering secondments to industrial experts to work with us to exploit pioneering technology that will ultimately benefit the UK economy.”

The KTA builds on the success of a Collaborative Training Account, awarded by the EPSRC to Loughborough to encourage long-lasting and mutually beneficial partnerships with organisations through research-related training opportunities.

For more information about working with Loughborough University, contact the University’s Enterprise Office on Freephone 0800 036 0505 or email business@lboro.ac.uk