ICYMI: latest news and opportunities from UKRI and the councils

Hello and welcome to the first edition of Transforming Tomorrow Together, the LinkedIn newsletter covering stories, advice, inspiration and opportunities from across the UKRI family.

This edition, we're rounding up some of the things you might have missed from our pages.

Advice and opportunities

Developing smart sensors based on morpho butterfly wings - then taking them to market

As Chief Scientific Officer to Advanced Material Development Ltd, UKRI Future Leaders Fellow Izabela Jurewicz has learned a lot about the journey from taking research from discovery to product.

We asked her what her advice would be for other researchers looking to scale up - you can read her tips here, and watch our film about her innovation.

You can also watch this video and lots more on our YouTube channel for Researchers.

Join our advisory committees

We’re recruiting members for UKRI’s Infrastructure and Digital Infrastructure advisory committees, the Advisory Group for Digital Research Infrastructure (AGD) and the Infrastructure Advisory Committee (IAC).

Ideal candidates will have a strategic vision, excellent communication skills, and a collaborative spirit. We particularly welcome applications from members of groups currently under-represented at senior levels in the research and innovation community. Closing date for applications is 9 August. More details: https://orlo.uk/n1xgn

New to applying for funding on The Funding Service? We've got all you need to know in this YouTube playlist

What we're funding

Eight new networks to tackle antimicrobial resistance

Ten million people each year are expected to lose their lives to antimicrobial resistance by 2050.

Rather than taking single-discipline approaches, we need researchers from across disciplines to come together and look at all aspects of the problem – from human behaviour and how we grow crops and rear animals for consumption to how we manage the environment or use technology, clinical management strategies and challenging established cultural norms.

That's why we're launching eight new research networks, in a different research specialism, to work on this creeping challenge.

India - Australia - United Kingdom

At UKRI, we know that the biggest global challenges can't be solved by any one nation alone.

Climate change, public health challenges like pandemic readiness, vaccines and drug resistance, and technological advancements require diverse expertise. And sharing resources and infrastructure can help drive innovation on a global scale. Partnerships with research organisations across the globe are vital to our work, and to ensuring that our research and innovation have the widest possible impact.

So we're delighted that this month has seen agreements with India and Australia that will allows us to tackle - among other things - water quality and energy innovation in partnership with CSIRO, and networks and cybersecurity under the UK-India science, technology and innovation partnership.

More on our new MoU with Australia here and our partnership with India here.

Work with US researchers: BBSRC-NSF/BIO lead agency 2024

India-UK joint opportunity in telecommunications research

Get all our funding alerts and search open opportunities on our Funding Finder

Innovate UK has announced the winners of the Transport Decarbonisation Demonstrator competition, seven projects working in partnership with local authorities with the potential to reduce carbon emissions from transport in local areas. They include a mobile electric vehicle charging solution in Coventry, trialling solar charging points for rental e-bikes in rural Cornwall and developing a software tool to help councils plan routes for EV waste collection in rural areas where hills and longer distances increase electrical consumption.

We celebrated the launch of five new quantum hubs intended to ensure the UK benefits from the potential of quantum technologies, from healthcare and computing to national security and critical infrastructure. Quantum technologies harness quantum physics to gain a functionality or performance which is otherwise unattainable, deriving from science which cannot be explained by classical physics. Their applications include the transformation of early disease diagnosis and seeing the invisible such as gas leaks and hidden objects.

The Medical Research Council has published its new strategy for how people and the research community can come together to shape and share research.

Consultations and surveys

Help shape the future of bioscience

This week BBSRC launched a community consultation, for input into the Forward Look for UK Bioscience. The Forward Look will underpin BBSRC’s strategic direction over the coming decade, and we want to be sure it that reflects the priorities and values of those at the forefront of bioscience research and innovation.

Bioscience isn’t just a field of study. As a cornerstone for innovation and transformation, it has the capacity to help us better understand the wonderful complexities of life.

But this formidable force does so much more. It offers an unparalleled opportunity to re-imagine what’s possible.

However, with great potential comes great responsibility. As the UK’s major public funder of bioscience research and innovation, BBSRC has an ambitious vision to advance the frontiers of biology to deliver a healthy, prosperous and sustainable future.

Find out more about BBSRC’s Forward Look for UK Bioscience and take part in the 2024 community consultation.

Send your questions and queries to [email protected]

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#FundedByYou: Stories from the news this week

People who swim in rivers and the sea are being invited to help researchers understand and protect people from the health risks related to pollution. The NERC: Natural Environment Research Council -funded ‘Poo-Sticks’ project is looking for wild swimmers in rivers, while the UKRI-and Horizon Europe-funded BlueAdapt project focuses on people who go in the sea.

Researchers have developed soft, stretchable ‘jelly batteries’ inspired by electric eels. The jelly-like materials are layered, like the modified muscle cells in the eels, which means they can deliver an electric current. ?The batteries are self-healing, can stretch to ten times their original length without affecting their conductivity and could be used for wearable devices or biomedical devices.

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