Research infrastructure is critical to the delivery of internationally leading, high impact research. The funding will enable significant development of the equipment base within QUB in the areas of energy, ICT, the digital economy and healthcare and provide an opportunity to increase to upskill the early career researchers as well as develop the research profiles of early career academics in areas of significant technological importance to the UK. All the equipment has been identified and will be used to benefit the entire university by incorporating the instrumentation into the shared equipment database developed within QUB.

Potential Impact:
We see this project as having impact in the areas of environmental sustainability, protection & impact, commercialisation & exploitation, improving health and social welfare, social cohesion and/or national security, increasing public engagement with research & related societal issues. In addition, the research undertaken which will be facilitated by the equipment funded through this programme will enable international collaboration with both other academic groups as well as industry. Overall, the main beneficiaries of the research programmes will be society as a whole and the UK economy, and the National Health Service as well as the wider scientific communities. This will be achieved by dissemination in peer reviewed journals, generation of IP, developing the skill sets of early career researchers, supporting and developing the research activities of early career academics and the presentation of work in academic, industrial and public settings. The research programmes will deliver in the following EPSRC themes the digital economy, ICT, energy and healthcare which map onto the areas of impact described above.