On July 18th, it was announced that ten UK research universities are to be awarded around £4.5 million each from the UK government’s £54 million Global Talent Fund, designed to attract world-class international scientists.
Universities and institutes will receive funding to relocate 60 to 80 researchers each. Five of the 12 recipients are based in the Greater South East, with no Northern universities represented.
Reflecting on this regional imbalance, Dr Annette Bramley, Director of the N8 Research Partnership, said:
“The announcement of funding through the Global Talent Fund is an important and welcome step in supporting the UK’s ambitions to attract world-class researchers to our shores. However, it is deeply disappointing that none of the selected institutions are based in the North of England.
“The N8 Research Partnership universities – Durham, Lancaster, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield, and York – are globally recognised for research excellence, and instrumental in driving innovation-led growth across the North and the UK as a whole. Recent analysis shows that the N8 universities contribute an annual economic impact of £18.8 billion to the UK economy, supporting 119,000 jobs and generating £3.3 billion in export earnings.
“Our institutions play a vital role in delivering the high-priority sectors this fund is intended to support, such as life sciences, digital technologies, and clean energy. Excluding Northern universities from this strategic initiative risks deepening existing regional disparities in R&D funding and overlooks the significant strengths and contributions of institutions outside the South.
“We urge UKRI and DSIT to ensure future programmes take a more regionally balanced approach, aligned with the government’s commitments to levelling up and boosting productivity in all parts of the UK.”
“We remain committed to working with government and partners to ensure the UK’s research and innovation ecosystem is open, inclusive, and draws on the full breadth of excellence found across our nations and regions.”