Fraunhofer selects Scotland as first UK base

Glasgow, Scotland -- The first Fraunhofer Center to be established in the UK will be based at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.

Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, Europe's largest organization for applied research, is creating the new Fraunhofer Center for Applied Photonics in a strategic collaboration with the University of Strathclyde. The Center will be a hub for industry-driven laser research and technology for a variety of sectors including healthcare, security, energy and transport. At the same time, Fraunhofer will establish a UK headquarters, Fraunhofer UK Research Ltd., at the University, as an umbrella organization for additional UK-based research centers in the future.

The Fraunhofer Center will be based in the University's world-class Technology and Innovation Center, which was launched in March last year and is transforming the way universities, business, and industry collaborate to find solutions to global challenges, create jobs and support the economy.

The new Fraunhofer Center is funded by Fraunhofer and the University, the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, and the Scottish Funding Council. The Center for Applied Photonics is expected to be the model for more Fraunhofer research centers around the UK.

"Fraunhofer is extremely pleased to have this opportunity to collaborate more closely with the University of Strathclyde," and in fact "has been eager, for some time, to create a Research Center in Glasgow in conjunction with Strathclyde," stated Professor Ulrich Buller, a senior vice president and executive board member of Fraunhofer Gesellschaft. He noted the university's "excellent reputation for industrial engagement, and specifically for photonics research and commercialization via its Institute of Photonics and other research groups."