Latest challenge fund development

The latest development in the £3 million Challenge Fund will be announced at a conference in Dundee today (Wednesday 4th March, 2003).

The details of the latest venture in the Challenge Fund – granted jointly in 2001 to the Universities of Dundee, St Andrews and Aberdeen to commercialise bioscience, biomedical and other areas of research – will be revealed at the University of Dundee hosted BioDundee conference.

James Houston, Director of Research and Innovations Services at the University of Dundee will announce that the Universities of Dundee, St Andrews and Aberdeen have set up a North East of Scotland Technology Fund (NESTech) with an office in each of the participating Universities. The fund is specifically designed to fund technologies that the Universities can licence out or fund projects that can form the basis of a spin out company.

The purpose of NESTech is to provide funding at the riskiest stage of the commercialisation process and bridge the gap between university research and commercial take-up/application.

The fund is designed to work alongside or as a follow-on to Proof of Concept Funding or SMART awards and was created from a successful bid to the Office of Science and Technology University Challenge Fund, together with funding from the three participating universities and their respective local enterprise companies.

ENDS

Issued by Beattie Media On behalf of the University of St Andrews Contact Gayle Cook on 01334 467227, mobile 07900 050103, or email [email protected] Ref: NESTech funding 040303 View the latest University news at http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk