Between 50-60 new jobs are set to be created by £5Million European Union research funding awarded to the University of Aberdeen.
This represents an increase of more than 50% on our current European grant holdings.
Principal of the University of Aberdeen, C Duncan Rice warmly welcomed the news: “I am delighted that our push for research distinction and quality is being recognised in this very tangible way.
“Increasing our financial support from the European Union is a crucial part of our ongoing strategy to secure funding from sources other than the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council.”
Professor Alex Forrester, Vice Principal with overall responsibility for European funding, added: “We are very pleased indeed that the level of our funding from the European Union is continuing to rise. As well as being the lead organisation for many of the projects, we are in partnership with just about every country in Europe which clearly enhances our reputation for international research distinction.
“It is also very good news for the Aberdeen since the projects will create somewhere between 50-60 new jobs. If you take into account the multiplier effect of such increased employment opportunities, then the economic benefits to the city are even greater.
“Indeed, we are still awaiting the outcome of a significant number of other bids which are currently being assessed by the European Union. I am confident that we can expect a further £2Million of funding to come to us, bringing our funding to £7Million by the end of the year. This will in fact mean a total or some 80 jobs being created.”
Successful projects involve a wide spectrum of the University’s research portfolio, including medicine and the biological, physical and social sciences. Partnership with industry is also a key feature of several of the contracts.
An example of the successful bids to date is a project which aims to establish a register of studies supporting the evidence base for clinical referral guidelines for the use of medical ionising radiation. This is important from the perspective of cost-effectiveness in the use of NHS and other nation’s health resources as well as protection of the population from unnecessary ionising radiation.
To date guidelines have relied on best practice with a rather tenuous evidence base. This project (European Referral Criteria for Prescribers of Medical Ionising Radiation) will attempt to ensure best evidence-based guidelines development and will result in the production of a printed booklet and electronic version in a user-friendly format aimed at those who prescribe such investigations.
Although all EC member states are technically involved in the project, it will have a UK base at the Royal College of Radiologists in London, with reference to European special interest groups through the European Association of Radiologists and the European Association of Nuclear Medicine. The study is coordinated by Professor Gillian Needham, Postgraduate Dean at thee University of Aberdeen’s Postgraduate Medical Centre who is also an Honorary Consultant at Grampian University Hospitals Trust.
Principal Rice concluded: “Our continued success in attracting large gains in European funding enables us achieve our strategic goal of becoming increasingly known as a major international institution of research and training distinction.”
Further information from:
Professor Alex Forrester, Vice Principal, Tel: 01224 273978
Professor Gillian Needham, Tel; 01224 553970
Christine Cook, Executive Director of Public Relations, Tel: 01224 272014
University Press Office on telephone +44 (0)1224-273778 or email a.ramsay@admin.abdn.ac.uk.