ORC collaboration a finalist for the THE Awards

The University’s Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) and the LifeLab project and are both in the running for this year’s Times Higher Education (THE) Awards 2015 – the higher education ‘Oscars’ - to be announced this Thursday, 26 November, at a gala ceremony in London.

Southampton is short-listed in two categories:

International Collaboration of the Year - The next generation of ultra-fast Internet or ground-breaking electronic circuits powered by light could very well be built on research carried out at The Photonics Institute, established as a joint venture between the ORC at the University of Southampton and Nanyang Technological University (NTU). As a result of the Southampton collaboration, the £40 million Institute, based at NTU and supported by industry partners and national agencies, is set to make Singapore a powerhouse in photonics research and enterprise.

Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community - This nomination is for LifeLab, the highly innovative, state-of-the-art teaching laboratory with a focus on life and lifestyle. Located in the heart of Southampton General Hospital, LifeLab is run collaboratively by the University of Southampton and the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust through a team that includes both medical and education specialists. Since opening in October 2013, almost 2200 students have participated and LifeLab training days are proving very popular having achieved a 93% rating as ‘excellent’ or ‘good’. 

You can follow news of this week’s awards ceremony live via Twitter using the hashtag #THEAwards. The presentation of awards starts at 9.30pm.