This week, Queen's University Belfast had the pleasure of hosting Professor Charlotte Deane, Executive Chair of EPSRC, along with her colleagues from EPSRC and UKRI, for a two-day Regional Engagement Event in Belfast.
The event provided a valuable platform for Northern Ireland's research and innovation community to showcase its pivotal role in driving collaboration between academia, industry, and government.
Day one featured a tour of Kelvin-2, Queen's scalable High Performance Computing (HPC) and Research Data Storage environment, crucial for advanced data-based research across the region. The delegation also visited our state-of-the-art solid-state NMR Spectrometer facility, funded through EPSRC, which is essential for advancing research across multiple scientific disciplines such as pharmaceuticals and advanced materials. Additionally, attendees visited Wrightbus, where QUB researchers have collaborated to develop leading low and zero-emission technologies, significantly contributing to the decarbonization of UK and global public transport.
Day two saw Charlotte lay out her vision for the future of funding for the engineering and physical sciences. We also had a panel discussion on ‘Harnessing triple-helix partnerships to generate regional growth with global impact’ chaired by Professor Roger Woods with Panellists: Professor Maire O'Neill, Queens University Belfast, David Quinn, MIoD, Director for Belfast Region City Deal at Queen's University Belfast , Professor Jim McLaughlin, Ulster University and Dr Andrew Bourne, EPSRC.
Later, participants engaged in deep-dive discussions focusing on the EPSRC's delivery plan objectives, including fostering world-class innovation, nurturing world-class people and careers, and creating world-class places. These discussions provided an opportunity to further align our regional efforts with national goals and explored how we can collectively address pressing societal challenges.
This event underscored the importance of regional collaboration in shaping the future of UK research. We look forward to building on these insights and strengthening our partnerships in the region.
Andrew Bourne Neil Robinson Luke Davis Caitlin M. Patrick Middleton Tom Gibson Xinjin Liang Marie-Louise Cairns Archie Clements Gemma Hulkes Emily Burford Belfast Region City Deal at Queen's University Belfast Andy Harris Wendy McLoone #research #innovation #impact