2018 STFC Regional Centre

作为欧洲最大的多学科研究机构之一，STFC拥有世界一流的研究设施和能力。它负责资助英国大学在天文学和其他空间科学、粒子物理学和核物理领域的大部分研究，在这方面，它为英国提供了主要的国际组织的接口，如CERN、ESA、ESO、ESS、FAIR、NASA等。STFC还在英国运营着自己的世界级大型研究设施，如中央激光设施、ISIS脉冲中子和介子源、钻石光源、微电子支持中心、哈特里计算科学与工程中心以及博尔比地下实验室。通过对科学的支持，STFC对英国学术界产生了重大影响，它与英国商界建立了牢固的联系，特别是在西北部的达斯伯里实验室和东南部的卢瑟福阿普尔顿实验室附近地区。Harwell Oxford和tech Daresbury的创新中心是当地高科技企业所熟知的，世界一流的科学设施和企业孵化器空间的共同定位已经形成了与社区的重要联系。STFC正在通过创新者桥接（B4I）计划进一步改善商业准入，特别是中小企业，该计划将为STFC科学家提供单一的准入点和支持，以应对商业挑战。虽然STFC的能力在英国学术界是众所周知的，但对于STFC设施直接区域以外的企业来说，知识差距很大。例如，米德兰兹地区是英国制造业、运输业和服务业优势的所在地，但该地区的公司尚未利用STFC支持地区的国际领先科学专业知识。这项建议的目的是发展一个试点区域中心，以弥合知识差距，帮助当地企业找到应对高科技挑战的解决方案，创新制造技术，寻找新的合作机会和市场，从而提高生产力，建立研发能力，加速该地区的增长。这项工作建立在STFC内的B4I计划的基础上，该计划提供了获取先进分析技术的途径，支持STFC内的专业知识和能力。伯明翰大学（UoB）和制造技术中心（MTC）正计划创建一个中心，将B4I的机会和STFC科学基地的能力与中部地区的商业联系起来。

As one of Europe's largest multidisciplinary research organisations, STFC has world-class research facilities and capabilities. It is responsible for funding much of the research in UK universities in the fields of astronomy and other space sciences, particle physics, and nuclear physics, and in this context it provides the main UK interface to leading international organisations such as CERN, ESA, ESO, ESS, FAIR, NASA, etc. STFC also operates its own world-class, large-scale research facilities in the UK such as the Central Laser Facility, ISIS pulsed neutron and muon source, Diamond Light Source, the Microelectronics Support Centre, the Hartree Centre for Computational Science and Engineering, and the Boulby underground laboratories.Through its support of science, STFC has had a significant impact on the UK academic community, which has seeded strong connections to UK business, especially in the areas near Daresbury Laboratory in the Northwest and Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the South East. The innovation hubs of Harwell Oxford and Sci-Tech Daresbury are well known to local high-tech business, and the co-location of world-class scientific facilities and business incubator space has resulted in the generation of important links to the community. STFC is in the process of further improving commercial access especially for SMEs via the Bridging for Innovators (B4I) programme, which will provide a single point of access and support from STFC scientists in addressing commercial challenges.While the capabilities within STFC are well known in academic circles across the UK, there is a significant knowledge gap for businesses outside of the immediate area of STFC's facilities. The Midlands region for example is home to much of the UK's strength in the manufacturing, transport and service sectors, yet the companies in the region have yet to exploit the internationally leading scientific expertise to be found in the areas STFC supports. The aim of this proposal is to develop a pilot Regional Centre that can bridge the knowledge gap and help local business find solutions to high-tech challenges, innovate manufacturing techniques and find new partnering opportunities and markets to thereby improve productivity, build R&D capacity and accelerate growth in the region. The effort builds on the B4I programme within STFC, which provides the route to access advanced analytical technologies, supporting expertise and capabilities within STFC. The University of Birmingham (UoB) together with the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) are planning to create a hub for communicating and connecting the opportunities of B4I and the capabilities of the STFC science base to Midlands business.