7 Jul 2021
Scotland’s Rural College has submitted multimillion pound plans for centre that will “utilise technology and expertise in big data”.
Joshua Silverwood
Job Title
An artistic impression of how the planned innovation centre could look.
A Scottish university has submitted plans to build a new multimillion pound “veterinary innovation centre” as part of its push to open a new vet school.
Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) has submitted plans to Highland Council in Inverness, outlining its goal to build a two-storey £9 million building at Beechwood Farm, part of the Inverness campus.
The facility will play host to a necropsy suite for wildlife and laboratory spaces, as well as breakout spaces, lecture halls and areas for new bioscience-focused start-up businesses.
SRUC has touted how its new centre will “utilise technology and expertise in big data”, while at the same time creating and supporting the development of new and existing businesses and jobs.
Last month the university announced it intended to open the first new vet school in Scotland in more than 150 years, and the new facility will host much of its new course.
The total estimated budget of the building is around £9 million, and the European Regional Development Fund Scotland Programme awarded the project £4.1 million alongside a £4.2 million financial transactional loan from the Scottish Funding Council.
Wayne Powell, principal and chief executive of SRUC, said: “By being based on the Inverness campus, the Rural and Veterinary Innovation Centre will be part of one of the most exciting biotech hubs in Europe.
“It’s never been clearer that human health and animal health are part of the same system. By bringing researchers and commercial innovators together within the same space, we have a wonderful opportunity to develop new products and technology that will help prevent and deal with a future pandemic.
“We have also taken the opportunity to create new spaces for knowledge exchange and continued professional development for local business.”
Prof Powell added: “By providing postgraduate education, we will create opportunities for students to engage with business. This will help foster the next generation of biotech entrepreneurs within the Highlands and Islands.”
Ruaraidh McNeil – director of business infrastructure, Highlands and Islands Enterprise – said: “We have worked closely with SRUC over several years and it’s great to see its plans to broaden its work on Inverness campus reach this stage.
“The new centre will be important in supporting the growth of rural enterprises. With its mix of research, learning, knowledge exchange and business engagement, it will also further strengthen the collaborative ethos of the campus, which has been a key theme since the outset of the development.”
