Professor Rachel K. O’Reilly MBE FRS, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of Birmingham, commented: “I am delighted that the University of Birmingham has been selected to support the Government’s vision to attract exceptional international researchers to the UK.
“In celebration of our 125 anniversary this year, our University is committed to investing in the recruitment of 125 leading researchers. The Global Talent Fund investment means that we will now go even further – drawing a diverse community of world-leading researchers to Birmingham.
“They will join a thriving and ambitious research environment, where the potential for discovery, collaboration, and impact has never been greater. We look forward to welcoming a new generation of global research leaders to our University and city and to seeing the positive impact their work will have on the UK economy and on the health and wellbeing of society.”
Global Talent Fund resources are targeted to support research across eight priority areas: advanced manufacturing; clean energy industries; creative industries; defence; digital and technologies; financial services; life sciences; and professional and business services.
Birmingham’s selection marks its status as a top 100 global university with a strong track record for both life-changing research and recruiting high-calibre academic talent.
The University has developed a successful 125 Fellows & Chairs initiative, which has attracted more than 1,800 applications from academics in critical research areas and from across the world.
Twenty-two academics have been appointed following the first phase of the scheme, including 10 Chairs and 12 Fellows, from North America, Europe and Asia.
University of Birmingham researchers are on track to secure £1 billion of research income over the last four years.
The University’s research and knowledge transfer activity contributes £1.4 billion to the UK economy, with every £1 million of research income generating £6.49 million of impact. The University was ranked top 5 in REF2021 in nine units of assessment and top in the UK for research impact in four units of assessment.
