Research Excellence
Newcastle University is a member of the Russell Group: the association of leading research-intensive UK universities.
We have one of the largest European Union research portfolios in the UK and have research links with many other countries. We have a proven track record of meeting the most pressing societal challenges through socially relevant research.
‘World leading’ or ‘internationally recognised’ research was identified in all of our submitted subject areas by the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2008, and are ranked 17th in the UK for research power (according to the influential publication, Research Fortnight).
In 2010 we attracted £85.2 million in research grant and contract income from a variety of funders including UK research councils, charities, the EU and the government.
In 2011, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) ranked Newcastle among its top 12 universities for research power after the University attracted £57.2m of funding from EPSRC in the last three years.
Awards
Prestigious awards such as the Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for Higher and Further Education recognise the quality of our research – we have received awards for our pioneering research into treating polluted water from abandoned mines and our world-leading work on ageing and health.
In 2010, the University's Research Office won the Outstanding Research Management Team award in the prestigious Times Higher Education Leadership and Management Awards.
Research projects
We work on major research projects that are funded by UK research councils, charities, industry and the European Commission, including:
- our new Baddiley-Clark Building houses the £30 million Bacterial Cell Biology Research Centre, which brings together the world’s largest group of scientists working on fundamental problems in bacteria
- we are lead partner in the £26 million Great North Museum, which houses some of the largest and most diverse collections in any non-national institution in Europe. The collections span local and worldwide natural history, palaeontology, archaeology and ethnography
- Newcastle scientists and pharmaceutical companies have set up a £20 million Centre of Biopharmaceutical Process Development, dedicated to fine-tuning drug development so that patients have access to new treatments speedily and safely
- we host a £12 million Digital Economy Research Hub that aims to tackle social exclusion by making it easier for people to access digital technologies
- we are a major partner in Newcastle Science City, which focuses on three areas of research excellence – ageing, sustainability and stem cells and regenerative medicine
- we have the largest number of academics working on aspects of ageing in Europe, many based on a purpose-built campus operated in partnership with the NHS Trust
