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The Scottish Funding Council has announced an allocation of £13.2 million to Scottish universities for this year from the UK Government’s £1.5 billion Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF).
The fund is designed to create international research collaborations to respond to global issues such as social welfare, environmental sustainability and economic development.
Since 2016-17, GCRF has supported more than 400 projects led by Scottish universities and involving over 70 developing countries. These include the development of an award-winning, low cost ophthalmology resource for health care workers by the University of St Andrews; the University of Glasgow’s research into the implications of teaching in English or native languages; and ongoing work into creating systems for safe drinking water by Robert Gordon University.
The success of Scottish universities in using GCRF and other international funding to help developing countries was reflected in the latest edition of the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings. The rankings, which assess the world’s universities against the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, included five Scottish universities in 2020.
Speaking about the Fund, SFC Director of Research & Innovation, Dr Stuart Fancey said:
“Scottish universities’ research is making a real difference to the lives of people in a number of developing nations. SFC is pleased to partner with BEIS and these universities to help GCRF funding support research that responds to needs and opportunities in those countries, contributing to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.”
For more information see Global Challenges Research Funding allocations FY 2020-21 announcement.
