The award of a prestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education in February has already made 2020 a year to remember for the University of Plymouth.
Eight years after its last summons to Buckingham Palace for the highest honour in the education system, the University was recognised for its ground-breaking research and public engagement on the issue of microplastics and marine litter.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Judith Petts CBE received the award, alongside Professor Richard Thompson OBE, whose seminal 2004 research paper ‘Lost at Sea: Where is all the Plastic? proved to be the catalyst for the creation of a global field of scientific study.
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The business is kindly sponsoring the Plymouth Business Awards this year as an event partner. Plymouth Business Awards has become one of the biggest events in the business calendar in Plymouth.
This is a special annual ceremony at Plymouth Pavilions on Thursday, May 21 where the winners of each category, voted for by a panel, will all be honoured for their achievements.
There is still chance to enter your business with entries closing on Friday, April 3.
Plymouth has remained at the forefront of that work, with its International Marine Litter Research Unit publishing a series of major scientific studies. More recently, it has played an important public and policy role, including providing evidence to the government that paved the way for legislation prohibiting the use of microbeads in wash-off cosmetics.
Marine science remains one of the jewels in the crown of Plymouth’s research expertise and this year its scientists have played leading roles in world-class studies into the threat of coastal erosion, and the impact of climate change on plankton and marine ecosystems.
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The University’s expertise extends into marine engineering and maritime, and it has been rapidly developing a major new centre of excellence around cyber-security in the shipping industry.
The recent award of £3 million funding to create a Cyber-SHIP Lab housed inside its Marine Building promises to turbocharge that development.
It is proving to be a very successful year for a number of start-up businesses that have ‘spun-out’ of the University’s research.
Among them, The Vaccine Group recently raised £680,000 to enhance its work into the development of novel vaccine technologies targeting zoonotic diseases, such as Ebola and SARS.
And Fieldwork Robotics, which is developing robots for harvesting soft fruit and vegetables, has raised almost £300,000 through its initial equity funding round, and successfully completed two field trials with one of the 海角视频’s leading fruit growers.
The year ahead will see a number of important developments regarding the University’s estate as it implements its new 10-year campus masterplan. These include the unveiling of architectural plans for the proposed Engineering and Design Facility, following the appointment of the award-winning Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios to the project.
Work is also getting underway on the redevelopment of Intercity House to create both a new centre for the Faculty of Health, and a re-designed gateway into the city.
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For enquiries about accessing University of Plymouth’s entire range of expertise, services and facilities.
Call 0800 052 5600, email enterprisesolutions@plymouth.ac.uk or visit www.essupport.com.