Education Minister Jane Hutt of the Welsh Assembly Government and the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales announced the £23.5m investment in new world-recognized Biosciences Center at the Aberystwyth University.
The award supports IBERS – the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences – in critical research that will prove significant in solving some of the world’s major environmental problems as environmental issues facing Wales. The funding will provide for the implementation of research and teaching facilities at the University’s Penglais campus and also at Gogerddan along with the development of scientific and management positions, and forms part of a five year £55m investment programme.
'This announcement is a powerful vote of confidence in our vision, and is in addition to a significant investment by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council,' noted Aberystwyth University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Noel Lloyd.
He continued, 'We are assembling one the largest teams of scientists and support staff working in this field in Europe. They already have an international reputation and this award will strengthen that reputation further.
Through our Alliance in Biological and Environmental Sciences with Bangor University we are creating centres of excellence in research and innovation that will lead
the food and biotechnology industries into a more secure and sustainable future.'
Announcing the substantial investment, Minister Hutt said: 'Living with climate change, renewable energy, global food security and plant and animal diseases are the grand challenges for the 21st century.
They impact globally and locally on our health and well-being.
This investment by the Assembly Government and the Research Council will help us understand and tackle those grand challenges.'
For more information about the Institute and its programmes, visit
www.aber.ac.uk/en/ibers/
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