University of Portsmouth cutting-edge research up for international award with residents' votes needed

A number of University of Portsmouth research projects have been nominated for a European research award, with residents able to vote for their favourite project.

The wide-ranging projects include improving smart lighting systems, renewable and solar energy technologies, sustainable horticulture, and cancer diagnosis.

The university’s Cooperative Brachytherapy project aims to improve the quality of both diagnosis and treatment of cancers by developing a new medical robot prototype for biopsies.

They are all funded by Interreg 2 Seas, a European Union research programme that supports cooperation between researchers in England, France, the Netherlands and Belgium.

Professor Jeremy Howells, Pro Vice-Chancellor for research and innovation at the University of Portsmouth, said: ‘It is fantastic to see so many of our research projects nominated for this award. Funding through EU research programmes has made a crucial contribution to our world-leading and internationally-recognised research, as evidenced by these projects.

‘Whether the UK participates in Horizon Europe or not, these research projects show the importance of meaningful research funding to addressing big societal challenges like climate change or cancer. If the UK is to continue to lead the world in addressing societal challenges, we need generous funding schemes for high-quality research.’

Each project has produced a video to demonstrate their cross-border cooperation achievements, and residents can vote for their favourite at surveymonkey.com/r/projectvideoawards2022.

The results will be announced at the Interreg 2 Seas Annual Event in The Hague on September 29 and 30.