Scottish university secures spot in landmark initiative to make UK a research hots

 A Scottish university has been selected to be part of a project worth over £50m to turn the UK into the go-to destination for top researchers.

The University of Strathclyde is one of 12 institutions to be awarded a share of a £54m UK Government fund set up to recruit world-leading researchers in sectors ranging from artificial intelligence (AI) to medicine.  

The Global Talent Fund aims to recruit up to 80 researchers and their teams, and marks the latest measure in the government’s efforts to secure the nation’s role as “the natural home of the very best science and research”.

Scottish secretary Ian Murray welcomed the funding, saying Scotland is home to “some of the planet's finest minds innovating for the good of our future”.

He added: "I'm pleased that the University of Strathclyde will receive a share of £54m UK Government investment to attract even more top talent to our shores.

“Scotland is rightly at the heart of the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy with our expertise integral to helping turbocharge the economy, create jobs and put more money in the pockets of working Scots as part of our Plan for Change.”

Each institution will choose how to spend their share in one of the high-priority sectors identified in the Industrial Strategy, which include digital and technologies, advanced manufacturing, and life sciences.  

Other sectors are clean energy industries, creative industries, financial services, and professional and business services.

“By bringing the very best minds in fields that will be critical to the future of life and work to the UK, we can pave the way for the products, jobs and even industries that define tomorrow’s economy, to be made and grow in Britain,” the government said.

Administered by UK Research and Innovation, the fund is one part of the £115m funding that is being dedicated to attract top research talent into the UK.

Among other measures to attract world-leading AI research teams, the government has also launched a series of fellowships and fast-track grant routes. 

Other institutions that have been selected as part of the fund include Imperial College London, Queen’s University Belfast, the University of Cardiff, the University of Oxford, and the University of Cambridge.  

Science minister Lord Vallance said: “Genius is not bound by geography. But the UK is one of the few places blessed with the infrastructure, skills base, world-class institutions and international ties needed to incubate brilliant ideas, and turn them into new medicines that save lives, new products that make our lives easier, and even entirely new jobs and industries. Bringing these innovations to life, here in Britain, will be critical to delivering this government’s Plan for Change.

“My message to the bold and the brave who are advancing new ideas, wherever they are, is: our doors are open to you. We want to work with you, support you, and give you a home where you can make your ideas a reality we all benefit from.”