University science funding details

University College London gets the largest grant

Universities in England have been told how much they will receive of a £600m grant to improve their research in science.

The allocations from the Science Research Investment Fund (SRIF) range from £106,911 for Buckingham Chilterns University College to £46.4m for University College London.

The awards will fund a range of projects including cancer research, the development of new drugs and environmental studies.

The money is part of a £1bn fund announced last summer by the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, and the Wellcome Trust.

The SRIF aims to improve and invest in science infrastructure by:

• enabling high-quality research
• promoting collaborative partnerships
• investing in the physical science infrastructure of higher education
• developing and enhancing capability in emerging areas of scientific research.

The chief executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England, Sir Brian Fender, said: "Universities and colleges in this country deliver top-quality scientific research.

Top five grants

UCL £46,726,982

Imperial College £46,105,227

Oxford University £42,949,438

Cambridge £41,481,792

King's College London £27,621,294

"The fund is structured to encourage collaborations with other institutions, businesses and charities, as part of a wider drive to ensure the UK as a whole gets the greatest possible benefit."

Bristol University welcomed its allocation of just over £17.9m.

The vice-chancellor, Sir John Kingman, said the university would set about identifying individual projects that would feature in a detailed submission.

"We are determined to go on contributing major advances in healthcare, new technology and other fields on which the quality of life, the environment and the economy depend," Sir John said.

The funds will be available from April 2002 and must be spent by March 2004.