In June 2020, 17 UKRI Strength in Places Fund (SIPF) Wave 2 projects were awarded seedcorn funding of up to £50,000 per project (worth a total of £821,000). This funding was for developing bids for full stage awards, with the intention that a small number of these would receive full stage funding.
Smart Nano-Manufacturing Corridor
Lead organisation: Seagate Technology Ireland
Sector: Electronics and photonics
The shared centres created through the Smart Nano-Manufacturing Corridor (SNMC) will bring together organisations from across the Belfast-Londonderry Corridor, connecting experts in photonics design, prototyping and mass manufacturing, to speed up the development of new nano-scale optical components to power our future digital devices. The SNMC will adopt game-changing prototyping and manufacturing methods, creating economic benefit for Northern Ireland.
NIPBT – The Northern Ireland Precision Biomarkers and Therapeutics Consortium
Lead organisation: Queen’s University Belfast
Sector: Medical technologies and pharmaceuticals
The Northern Ireland Precision Biomarkers and Therapeutics Consortium (NIPBT) will build on the region’s existing strengths in digital health and pharmaceuticals. It will bring together partners from industry and academia to increase research, encourage innovation and make Northern Ireland’s life and health science sector more productive. It will develop new, more cost-effective targeted drugs and antibodies and new ways of diagnosing cancer and other conditions. The long-term aim is to attract and secure highly skilled jobs to the region to enhance its competitiveness and prosperity.