University News Last updated 18 February 2010
Birmingham City University is one of only 21 institutions in England and Wales - and the only modern university – predicted to receive an increase in funding in recognition of its world-class research.
The announcement underpins the University’s ambitious commitment to significantly expand its research outputs and to be a research leader in the modern university sector.
Birmingham City University is set to benefit from a change in the ‘quality-related research funding’ (QR) formula used by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce).
Hefce has altered the funding formula to give a bigger weighting to ‘world-leading’ (4*) research in the 2010-11 allocations.
National funding announcements will be made on March 18, however modelling undertaken for Times Higher Education by Evidence, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters, based on last year's funding predicts that Birmingham City University will be allocated extra funding for 2010/11. This comes on top of a doubling in QR funding for the current year worth nearly £2million.
QR funding rewards universities for their research excellence, as measured by the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, a national audit of research excellence.
“While many institutions are now having to rethink their funding models it looks like we will again be rewarded for our international research excellence,” said Professor Keith Osman, Director of Research at Birmingham City University.
He added: “Through our expanded network of research centres we are confident we can further improve our research profile and expand our research base.”
Birmingham City University’s has earned a reputation as a ‘rising star’ research institution following success in the 2008 review. Three quarters of research submitted by the University was judged internationally excellent with 40 per cent included in the highest ‘world-leading’ bands.
The University continues to build on the RAE-2008 success and the resulting doubling of QR funding from Government by investing in its centres of research excellence.
In preparation for the next national research audit Birmingham City University has a new five-year research strategy. This ambitious plan aims to create an expanded network of research centres and is engaging more academic staff and students in research activity.
The University focuses research in a number of areas of direct relevance to modern society, including the digital economy, low-carbon, the environment , design and the creative industries, media and cultural studies, fine art, music, education, business, innovation and enterprise, and healthcare and social-care (for more information visit www.bcu.ac.uk/research).
The University is in the process of recruiting 36 Doctoral research students who will be funded through university research bursaries.