Multi-million pound tech centre coming to Scotland

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An £89 million research and technology centre is to be built in Glasgow, bringing 700 new jobs and £100 million into the Scottish economy.

The Technology and Innovation Centre (TIC) at the University of Strathclyde will seek to assist universities, business and industry in collaborating with one another.

The centre will cater to a wide range of industries, from the power and energy sector to photonics and sensors.

Building is expected to begin at the start of next year, with the official opening due to take place in 2014.

The centre will become a core part of Scottish Enterprise’s new International Technology and Renewable Energy Zone (ITREZ)

“Through this collaboration, the aim is to double the scale of research programme investment in Scotland in areas key to economic growth by up to £150 million in five years,” said First Minister Alex Salmond.

“This city and this country will engineer the technologies of the 21st century just as Glasgow once dominated marine engineering in the 19th century.”

A host of companies have already expressed an interest in the facility, with initial partners including Scottish and Southern Energy, ScottishPower and the Weir Group.

Weir will establish a dedicated facility within the building, called the Weir Advanced Research Centre, and will also create four PhD studentships per year.

The university has received financial backing from Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Funding Council for the project.

“TIC will attract millions of pounds of inward investment to the city, drive global businesses, create jobs, and support the development of our highly-qualified graduates and postgraduates,” said Professor Jim McDonald, principal of the University of Strathclyde.

“TIC will forge new levels of collaboration between researchers, the public and private sectors to accelerate the pace of research and development and deliver benefit to companies, the economy and Scotland.”

The UK Government recently outlined its own plans for a £200 million network of technology and innovation centres.

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