The University of Edinburgh is throwing open its doors to industry later this month as part of a programme designed to develop stronger collaborative ties between business and the academic community. ‘Access All Areas’ is a one-day event taking place on 28 May at the Scottish university. Open to all companies looking to explore opportunities to access research facilities and academic expertise, the event will showcase 'some of the best science and engineering facilities and expertise in Europe' the university claims. To date, the university has collaborated with some 2,500 companies, many of which have taken advantage of the broad range of expertise, equipment and capabilities available to further develop their product offerings.
Facilities on show include the FloWave Ocean Energy Research Facility which 'provides outstanding scale modelling capabilities for the marine renewable energy and oil and gas industries' . Edinburgh University claims this is a world-unique facility for testing and de-risking marine platforms, technologies and projects. The £9.5m facility was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the University of Edinburgh. The large wave and tidal tank is able to mimic the normal and extreme conditions of coastlines around Europe for testing wave or tidal current devices at scales up to 1:20. It will be suitable for testing submersible devices, remotely operated vehicles, offshore wind installation and service vessels and other marine tools. The university is renowned for providing extensive support for companies across a wide range of market sectors. Typical projects have involved the analysis of new products/materials, waste water treatment, problem solving, improving product performance, and the testing of products or ingredients under extreme conditions. The event is part of the University’s continuing goal of leveraging its outstanding knowledge base and expertise to benefit industry, as Ian Sharp, commercial relations manager at Edinburgh Research and Innovation, explains; “There is a real focus on ensuring impact from our research, facilities and expertise through wider collaboration with Industry. The Event’s talks and tours will be deliberately organised into smaller groups, to allow companies greater interaction with our technicians and academics. This will open up opportunities for attendees to gain a fuller understanding of how accessing our facilities and knowledge base could provide tangible benefits to their business.
“For example Edinburgh Genomics, one of the largest genomics facilities in the UK, will provide an overview of the support it offers the life science industry. Recent investment in new gene sequencing platforms and new staff has created a world-class array of facilities, technology and expertise which many companies are beginning to benefit from.” . Registration for the Access All Areas event on 28 May is now open until 16 May, and places can be reserved at www.accessallareas.eri.ed.ac.uk
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