Marine renewables research centre
MERIKA was an EU funded project to stimulate networks and innovation in marine renewables, unlocking and developing the research potential of research entities established in the EU´s convergence and outermost regions. The project was a key capacity building programme that ran from 2014-17 to establish a marine energy research and innovation hub at UHI. The work of MERIKA has now evolved into the Bryden Centre, a PhD programme for advanced marine and bio-energy research, an EU funded Research and Innovation project focused on establishing collaborative links between universities and industry.
MERIKA allowed UHI to invest, at scale, in research resources and infrastructure facilities that has allowed the university to participate in initiatives such as The Bryden Centre - a research programme supporting industry innovation by aligning its activities with industry development priorities.
A Doctoral Training Centre sits at the heart of The Bryden Centre, with PhD students undertaking research projects developed in consultation with industry and other stakeholders. Students are supported by a supervisory team drawn from cross-border Bryden Centre partners at UHI, Queens University Belfast and Letterkenny Institute of Technology Donegal - with further supervisory input from an “industry champion” to give a commercially informed perspective on research activities.
The Bryden Centre also includes Post-docs undertaking personal research and targeted feasibility studies that align with industry priorities. In addition, there are a series of cross-border project support initiatives such as summer schools and training, industry secondments and placements, designed to produce a work-force with skills and experience that can contribute to a renewable energy future across the Scotland-Ireland region.
The Bryden Centre is funded by;
The MERIKA project was funded by:
