Addressing global issues through collaboration

The challenges our planet is faced with require innovative approaches. To increase the impact of publicly funded research, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) has joined forces with the University of Cambridge to create an Innovation Centre that focuses on climate change and challenging environments.

Located at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) in Cambridge, the Centre will be launched in 2015, but feasibility studies to kick-start interdisciplinary research projects are already under way.

First results arising from these new collaborations will be presented at a workshop today (Monday 29 September).

Twenty-seven diverse projects will be represented, including cold-adapted enzymes with potential applications in the biotech industries, remote sensing for conservation of seabirds and marine mammals, and measuring coastal vulnerability through sea-level rise. In addition to researchers from BAS and from 12 departments of the University of Cambridge, external partners from other research institutions and companies are also involved.

BAS Director Professor Jane Francis said, “I am delighted that this workshop is taking place; it clearly demonstrates how much we have to gain from working together. This is just the beginning. The excellent laboratory and meeting facilities that the new Innovation Centre will offer from next year will help us to extend the range of fruitful partnerships with academia, business, policy makers and the third sector to create tangible benefits for society."

Image Credit: British Antarctic Survey