NEWS > Huge business opportunities for Cornwall
Published: Wednesday, 21 Jul, 2010
A GBP30m investment to put Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly at the forefront of environmental and climate change technologies was announced on 20 July 2010 by the South West RDA, Regional Development Agency, and the University of Exeter. The investment
A GBP30m investment to put Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly at the forefront of environmental and climate change technologies was announced on 20 July 2010 by the South West RDA, Regional Development Agency, and the University of Exeter. The investment – which includes almost GBP23 million from the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) Convergence programme - will enable the University of Exeter to build a world leading Environment and Sustainability Institute (ESI) at the Combined Universities In Cornwall Tremough Campus, Penryn – bringing at least 800 jobs in its wake.
ESI will concentrate on two core areas: making good commercial use of the environmental and sustainability knowledge in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, and creating a world class research and teaching institution at Tremough to increase that knowledge. The investment’s aim is to grow the economy of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, creating jobs and wealth by building on existing assets; creating a sustainable cluster of high value businesses, people, knowledge, investment and research.
Investment for the new project comes from the ERDF Convergence Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, the South West RDA and the University. Work is due to start in February to create one of the most environmentally friendly buildings in the UK to house the Institute. It will be ready for occupation in summer 2012. The ESI will generate world class research into the causes of environmental change and how to manage its effects. More than 100 top quality academic staff will be recruited to work across three selected themes: clean technologies, natural environment, and socio economic research.
There is already potential for commercial applications from the base of knowledge being developed in these areas of research in Cornwall and Exeter and one of the unique features of the institute will be the fact that researchers across different disciplines will work together. To ensure that Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly fully exploit the business opportunities from the knowledge generated by ESI, a carefully designed business support service will be integral to the ESI. It is envisaged that this, combined with investments in Innovation Centres at Pool and Tremough, will see the creation of a thriving cluster of businesses leading the way in the application of these increasingly important technologies and providing high value jobs.
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