UK avian research centre opened
The £5.6m Allermuir Avian Innovation and Skills Centre was opened by Lord Henley, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
The Scottish Funding Council’s (SFC) Financial Transactions Programme is part of the funding package behind the centre.
The Centre, owned by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), aims to improve nutrition, health and welfare across the international poultry industry.
The Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock (CIEL) has invested £1.9m, alongside funding from Innovate UK. SRUC invested £3.6m with support from the Scottish Funding Council’s (SFC) Financial Transactions programme, aimed at strategic campus development, energy efficiency or improved student experience projects.
The Allermuir Avian Innovation and Skills Centre is expected to “significantly broaden the poultry research capability available through CIEL’s nationwide network of university partners, enabling businesses to work directly with world-leading researchers to develop new technical innovations in food production”.
Once operational, the Allermuir Avian Innovation and Skills Hub will employ between up to 35 people and host four postgraduate students.
Professor Wayne Powell, principal and chief executive of SRUC, said: “CIEL and Innovate UK are excellent partners in the project and I’d also like to thank the Scottish Funding Council for its support.
“A future with industry, researchers and governments working in closer collaboration is how we will meet the agricultural challenges of tomorrow.”
SFC chair Mike Cantlay added: “The Allermuir Centre is exactly the type of project we want to benefit from our Financial Transactions programme.
“This facility will provide research and skills development for an important area of our economy and will contribute to Scotland’s reputation for world-leading research. I look forward to following its progress and to celebrating its successes in the future.”
