Academic projects given £10m

Academics at the University of Glasgow are hailing three new projects receiving backing worth more than £10 million from a European Commission venture aiming to help earlystage researchers.

The Schools of Engineering, Geographical and Earth Sciences and Mathematics and Statistics will team up with European universities and businesses to deliver innovative projects aimed at directing evolution for industry, improving water quality, and developing robots with a sense of touch.

The funding comes from the European Commission’s Innovative Training Networks project, which aims to train a new generation of creative, entrepreneurial and innovative early-stage researchers and increase the overall quality and innovation of doctoral training in Europe and beyond.

A total of 123 projects will share the commission’s €442m (£389) budget, with the University of Glasgow and partners receiving €11.7m (£10.3m).

The Evodrops project has received backing of €3.5m. It aims to provide industry with a new method to help direct the further evolution of natural enzymes, and to create new molecules with valuable industrial applications.

Project partners include several major companies such as Thermofisher and BASF.

Additionally, the University of Glasgow-led Aquasense initiative, which is to develop advanced new technology for monitoring water quality and provide multidisciplinary training to 15 early-stage researchers, has received €4.1m in funding.

And the €4.1m Neutouch project, aiming to improve tactile perception in robots and prostheses and led by the Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia in Italy, will also include a major research contribution from the School of Engineering’s Ravinder Dahiya alongside collaborators from academia and industry.