Excellence and Innovation - University of Bradford

The University is proud of its research history. Our mission: 'Making Knowledge Work' is firmly embedded into the way the University conducts research of direct benefit to society. Our approach has been one of collaboration, consultancy and training for institutions that have wanted to tap into our pool of knowledge and expertise.

Research

We are a research-active University, with several departments receiving top research ratings. Much of our research is undertaken in collaboration with industry and the professions, which ensures its relevance and application to the outside world.

Collaboration

The School of Engineering, Design and Technology's state-of-the-art Polymer Interdisciplinary Research Centre (IRC) has been chosen as one of the first Centres of Industrial Collaboration (CIC), in order to rejuvenate the links between universities and business.

Created by the regional development agency Yorkshire Forward, the £11million CIC initiative allows regional businesses to exploit international-level research being carried out at universities in the area. The IRC have embarked on providing answers to questions on polymer processing and computer modelling, to name but a few.

Consultancy

Science Minister Lord Sainsbury opened the Institute of Pharmaceutical Innovation (IPI) on the University's main campus in 2003.

The IPI will give the pharmaceutical industry an unrivalled research base to bring new drugs to the global market.

It will use the very latest artificial intelligence and simulation-based computer methods together with advanced analytical research, to predict how drugs can best be transformed into medicines.

Yorkshire Forward has sponsored the top floor of the building which will act as an 'incubator' to support new enterprises. This will create a number of spin-offs and create a cluster of innovative bioscience companies in Yorkshire.

Yorkshire Forward and three other Yorkshire universities have set up ThinkBusiness@Bradford, which offers a comprehensive range of services to students including assistance with idea generation, business planning and appraisal, incubation space, mentoring and master classes.

The ThinkBusiness programme has set up an 'Ideas Lab' - a business incubator offering office space, hot-desking facilities and expertise to new business start-ups.

Training

The Department of Peace Studies recently won a major Government contract to provide short courses to officers of the British Armed Forces.

Some 600 officers will be trained over the next five years as part of the Ministry of Defence contract, with the first courses starting in October 2004.

The contract will be managed by the Department's Centre for International Co-operation and Security (CICS) and delivered by the University's leading international experts in key areas.

The University is continuously adapting its role as a provider of research, to help institutions find the answers to problems that will help shape our world for the better. Critical to this role is the willingness of our postgraduate and research students to research 'real life' problems.