Lincoln provides UK development research
The University of Lincoln, UK, will drive the UK’s role in the delivery of a €3.7m research project supporting business development across Europe.
Entitled the RUNIN (Role of Universities in Innovation and Regional Development) project, Lincoln’s share of the fund will amount to around £500,000 (~€593,000) and the institute will work alongside local government, its European counterparts, and Europe-wide economic development agencies.
Project leader for the UK, Professor David Charles from Lincoln International Business School, said: “For businesses, being innovative – for example, implementing new ideas, creating novel products or improving existing services to name a few – is vital to prosper in an ever-competitive environment.
“This project addresses a core concern of policy makers across Europe of how regions can prosper in the rapidly changing global economy.
“Universities have a key role to play in this; we are the producers of new knowledge, of a highly skilled workforce, and we can transmit that knowledge to firms, policy-makers and the general public.”
The University of Stavanger, Norway, will co-ordinate RUNIN, which will be funded by the Innovative Training Networks (ITN) scheme under the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme and its Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions pillar.
Professor Rune Dahl Fitjar from the University of Stavanger added: “This training programme will equip the next generation of innovation researchers with the skills they need to work across the sectors of the economy.
“The programme will give the candidates a solid research education, as well as building skills which will be useful in future careers in industry or the public sector.”
Other university partners in the project are Aalborg University, Denmark; University of Twente, the Netherlands; Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain; Linköping University, Sweden and University of Aveiro, Portugal.
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