Professor Clive Roberts, Director of the Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education (BCRRE) will tell academic leaders about lessons learnt in leading and delivering a high-profile, successful research initiative at today’s Annual Research, Development and Innovation Conference in London (22 November 2018).
Professor Roberts’ speech will focus on the how the UK Rail Research and Innovation Network (UKRRIN) was developed, which received £92 million in funding from central Government and industry partners and is now delivering world-leading research from inception to market application.
Professor Clive Roberts said, “Without funding from Research England and Industry, innovative initiatives such as the UK Railway Research and Innovation Network would never have got off the ground. Working alongside industry is essential to take world-leading research and apply it to the global market place. Today’s conference will share best practice among those funding and leading research initiatives.”
The conference which is designed for the Higher Education sector provides attendees with the opportunity to examine the latest policy and funding developments across the UK research and innovation sector. The impact of the recently formed UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) will be assessed, and sector leaders will share advice around preparing for the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021.
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About UKRRIN:
Launched in February of this year the UK Rail Research and Innovation Network (UKRRIN) is a partnership between the rail industry and eight leading UK Universities delivering four world-class Centres of Excellence. These cover: rolling stock, infrastructure, digital systems and testing. The network builds on the work of RRUK and RRUKA but provides the UK rail sector with a step-change in research development and innovation, with a focus on bringing new technologies developed through collaborative academic research to market applications on a global scale. www.ukrrin.org.uk.
Academic members are: University of Birmingham, University of Huddersfield, University of Southampton, Newcastle University, Loughborough University, The University of Sheffield, Heriot-Watt University, The University of Nottingham, Cranfield University.
Industry members are: Siemens, SMRT, Bombardier, RSSB, Unipart, British Steel, Thales, Hitachi, Railway Industry Association, AECOM, Atkins, Pandrol, Aggregate Industries, Progress Rail, Porterbrook