The centre, which cost £4 million, has been jointly funded by the Northwest Regional Development Agency and the European Regional Development Fund. The Nowgen is a collaboration between the Central Manchester & Manchester Children’s University Hospitals NHS Trust and the Universities of Manchester, Liverpool and Lancaster.
The Genetics Knowledge Park was established originally in 2003, and has since has attracted over £7 million in research funding, and established research partnerships in Europe and North America.
The Nowgen Centre will run a programme of activities to engage and inform the public about genetics. Other Nowgen projects include research into public understanding and concerns about genetic tests and technologies, the education of healthcare professionals and the first NHS trial of a genetic test to predict individual responses to the heart drug warfarin.
Meanwhile, the University of Manchester’s William Lee Innovation Centre has secured £4m to launch a new project aimed at devising technologies to help the UK’s dwindling textiles industry.
The Knowledge 4 Innovation (K4I) project will try to address the structural and economic impact of high-volume production outside the UK on what was once the key source of wealth in north-west England.
The project will focus on equipping SMEs with the skills needed to help them exploit new technologies and it will also seek to develop a host of niche textile technologies for use in the medical, automotive and sports industries.
Tilak Dias, Head of the William Lee Innovation Centre, said: “Textiles businesses now need to focus on functionality and innovation, rather than price in order to compete. This project will seek to instil the knowledge and skills SMEs need to seize new opportunities in global markets through technology and innovation.”
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