New UK ageing centre to collaborate with Health KIC

The UK’s new National Centre for Ageing Science and Innovation (NASI) will work closely with the new Health KIC, according to an executive at Newcastle University’s Institute for Ageing.

Speaking to Portal, Graham Armitage, deputy director for innovation and partnerships at the institute, said that the new NASI was being developed alongside the new EIT Health KIC and both will be focusing on forging new partnerships and encouraging innovation.

Armitage said: “We are working in parallel and assessing how to embed the NASI into our work. We will create facilities that will help us outreach into the community, into the business world and to our academic partners. We will further develop our knowledge base, bring skills to bear and support the knowledge and research capabilities that we have here at Newcastle University. Furthermore, we will also consider how we can bring our work into the European sphere through Horizon 2020 and collaborate with European entities, including the EIT Health.”

Newcastle University is a core partner in the EIT Health KIC, which was designated in December by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology in Budapest, Hungary. The NASI is receiving a grant of £40m (~€53m), funded equally between the UK Government and Newcastle University.