New science centres bring total to 12

Four more science enterprise centres were announced by Stephen Byers, secretary of state for trade and industry, this week, making a total of 12. They will be given a total of Pounds 4.5 million.

The centres, which will collaborate with other local universities, are: Durham (with Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside); Warwick (with Birmingham); Ulster (with Queen's University, Belfast); and Oxford. They aim to develop business expertise in science and transfer knowledge from the laboratory to the marketplace.