UK Research and Innovation

UKRI is to receive an £8.8bn share of DSIT’s record allocation towards research and development over the next financial year. This allocation safeguards the core capacity and capability of the UK research and innovation ecosystem and enables investment that will improve citizen’s lives and livelihoods, supporting the government's five missions and delivering growth across the UK. Chief Executive of UKRI, Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser, said:   “Research and innovation play a crucial role in driving sustainable economic growth, creating jobs and improving public services for people across the UK.   “This allocation safeguards the capability of the UK ‘s world class research and innovation ecosystem and enables investment to support the government's five missions.  “UKRI will use its unique position in the research and innovation system to make smart and strategic investment choices, delivering the best outcomes now and in the future, and making the most effective use of public money.” Want to know more about how funding is allocated to UKRI? Read our explainer: https://lnkd.in/eyMmQ-zM Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

“The establishment of the BRC is a welcome development in the drive to amplify excellence and creativity in research and innovation through the inclusion of diverse people and perspectives.” says Ottoline Leyser, UKRI CEO.

🚨 Calling all researchers from diverse disciplines! Could you help tackle current and future epidemic threats to animal, human, and plant health?   Phase 2 of our epidemic preparedness flagship investment is now open for applications, and we’re inviting a wide range of disciplines to apply - whether you’re in engineering, medicine, environmental, or social science. This is a fantastic opportunity to collaborate and build relationships across disciplines and institutions beyond your usual remit! 💡Join our webinar on 24 April to learn more: https://lnkd.in/e8N__3dU 📧 Have questions? Email them in advance to: TacklingEpidemics@ukri.org 📝 Or apply now: https://lnkd.in/eZxXHwYD ⏰ Closes on 19 June 2025 at 4pm You don’t need to have phase one funding to apply and we welcome applications from new or established groups.   This opportunity is part of the wider UKRI Tackling Infections strategic theme that aims to enhance our prediction and prevention of infectious diseases that pose threats to people, livestock, crops, and natural resources. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

We’re delighted to welcome Dr Anneke Lubben as UKRI’s new Chair of the Facilities Strategic Advisory Group (FSAG). The FSAG brings together representatives from across the UKRI family to discuss issues surrounding large-scale multidisciplinary facilities, with a current focus on neutron sources, high-power lasers and light source facilities. Dr Lubben takes over from Dame Frances Saunders DBE CB, FSAG Chair since 2018. During this time, Dame Frances has overseen prioritisation of major infrastructure projects such as the ISIS Endeavour programme and Diamond II upgrade – as well as providing key strategic insight to shape the future of facilities and infrastructure within UKRI as part of our Infrastructure Advisory Committee (IAC).

Have you received UKRI funding for AI research in the last three years? Here's a great chance to shine a spotlight on your impact. Submit your contributions by 30th April and be part of shaping the future of AI! 

Welcome to our 24 newly-appointed Council members! We’re looking forward to working with all of you across UKRI. AHRC: Seetha Kumar Tim Gardam Anita Bhalla Emma Kane BBSRC: James Briscoe EPSRC: Dr Dave Smith Simon King Professor Ian White ESRC: Andrew Dilnot Professor David Halpern Professor Cecilia Wong MRC: Professor Nadeem Sarwar Professor Nancy Rothwell Professor Sir Mark Caulfield NERC: Professor Peter Cox Professor Richard Bardgett Nick Folland Research England: Dr Tony Raven Professor Dina Kiwan Professor Dame Julia Buckingham STFC: Professor Jayne Lawrence Professor Dave Charlton Professor Andrew Pontzen Professor Stan Bentvelsen Our thanks also go to our outgoing Council members for their service.

Thanks to The Naked Scientists for another fantastic feature of the technology we're supporting: this week, the enzymes fighting the plastic crisis 🧴

UKRI India co-organised a two-day scoping workshop in Chandigarh, bringing together experts from the UK and Indian to explore opportunities in sustainable agriculture. The workshop was an exciting collaboration between Innovate UK, BBSRC, UKRI India, and our Indian partners, Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), in partnership with the National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute (NABI). In preparation for the workshop, colleagues from Innovate UK and BBSRC visited New Delhi for a site visit to the BRIC-National Institute of Plant Genome Research, India. We are grateful to Dr Debasis Chattopadhyay, NIPGR Director, and Dr. Gitanjali Yadav for hosting us. We also extend our sincere thanks to Professor Ashwani Pareek and his colleagues at NABI, our brilliant facilitator, and all the participants for their time, expertise and enthusiasm. UKRI, DBT and BIRAC are committed to strengthening UK-India collaboration in Sustainable Agriculture.

This week we published a new brochure showcasing the technologies of tomorrow that we’re supporting through the UKRI Technology Missions Fund. Since its launch in 2023, the programme has invested over £320 million into accelerating technologies that have the potential to improve lives and livelihoods and grow the UK economy. Its areas of focus are: -       AI -       Quantum Technologies -       Engineering Biology -       Future Telecommunications The new brochure features a range of people and projects supported through the Technology Missions Fund: from quantum sensors that allow accurate positioning even where GPS can’t reach, to high-speed energy-efficient Li-FI for 6G telecommunications. Read the brochure here: https://lnkd.in/efkAqjcY

Can mud help us predict tsunamis? Meet Cían McGuire, a librarian of sorts. But it's not books that he's watching over, it's mud! As Deputy Curator at the British Ocean Sediment Core Research Facility (BOSCORF), National Oceanography Centre, he looks after 2,500 sediment cores from the ocean floor. These time capsules of Earth’s history can tell us about volcanic eruptions, asteroid impacts, carbon level changes and even the Sahara’s transformation from grassland to desert. By preserving and analysing these cores, work like Cían’s means scientists can track climate records over thousands and millions of years, and better predict events like tsunamis. 📺 Watch the full episode from our day with Cían here: https://lnkd.in/egbtPR4T #101Jobs #ByEveryoneForEveryone