The RSE is pleased to announce the latest recipients of the Scotland Asia Partnerships Higher Education Research (SAPHIRE) Fund; a grant scheme funded by the Scottish Government aimed at developing new, as well as enhancing existing international research partnerships between Scottish universities, research institutes and partners in Australia, India, Japan, Pakistan, South Korea, Singapore and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
In this round, a total of £144,987.19 was awarded to 17 researchers, whose projects focused on environmental issues and climate change through the following key themes:
a. Clean Energy and Environment (inc. animal welfare)
b. Digital, Physics and Space, Advanced Manufacturing
c. Health
d. Sustainable Cities and Urbanisation
International Development Minister Neil Gray said,
Congratulations to the successful recipients of the latest round of Scotland Asia Partnerships Higher Education Research (SAPHIRE) funding. The SAPHIRE scheme is funded by the Scottish Government to enhance educational collaboration between some of Scotland and Asia’s most prestigious universities and projects like these will support our goals in the transition to net zero and building a healthier, wealthier, fairer Scotland.”
Professor Charles W. J. Withers FBA FRSE, Research Awards Convener, Royal Society of Edinburgh commented,
This is the largest cohort of researchers that has been supported through the SAPHIRE Fund: a scheme which encourages international collaboration to address crucial environmental issues. On behalf of the RSE, I offer my congratulations to these leading researchers and their international colleagues and look forward to following the outcomes of their exciting work.”
Dr Qammer Abbasi, University of Glasgow
Project title: COST: COmmunity based SusTainable future healthcare
Partner organisations: Scotland 5G Centre, Scotland; Lahore College for Women University, Pakistan; Wazirabad Institute of Cardiology, Pakistan; University of Engineering and Technology, Pakistan
Michael Chen, University of Edinburgh
Project title: Commercial glucometer as a point-of-care device for early cancer screening
Partner organisation: University of Sydney, Australia
Professor Keith Davidson, Scottish Association for Marine Science
Project title: My-HABs
Partner organisations: University of Malaya, Malaysia; Malaysia Government: Sabah Department of Fisheries, Malaysia
Professor Maria Grazia De Angelis, University of Edinburgh
Project title: New technological solutions to enable equitable and sustainable hemodialysis in Scotland and Australia
Partner organisation: University of Melbourne, Australia
Professor Pieter de Wilde, University of Strathclyde
Project title: Occupant Behavioural Freedom (OBF) provided by buildings to their occupants: technical constraints for behavioural studies
Partner organisation: Seoul National University, South Korea
Dr Alberto di Salvo, Robert Gordon University
Project title: Novel titanium oxide-graphene electrodes for the generation of green hydrogen from brewing biomass
Partner organisation: Muroran Institute of Technology, Japan
Professor Gill Hubbard, University of the Highlands and Islands
Project title: A Scotland and South Korean interdisciplinary partnership to develop virtual reality soundscapes to improve mental wellbeing
Partner organisations: Hanyang University, South Korea; Cànan Graphics Studio, Scotland
Dr Mark James, University of St Andrews
Project title: Seeding Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Marine Renewable Energy Research and Aquaculture
Partner organisations: University of Nagasaki, Japan; The Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland (MASTS), Scotland
Professor Garrabost Jayalakshmi, Edinburgh Napier University
Project title: Dance of the Seasons
Partners: Shree Rudraksha Natyalaya, India; Omkara School of Dance, Switzerland
Dr Chunxia Jiang, University of Aberdeen
Project title: The environmental and financial performance of green bonds: The global evidence
Partner organisations: Kanazawa University, Japan; National University of Singapore, Singapore
Dr Gang Li, University of Glasgow
Project title: Metacare: AI-powered automated detection of VR motion sickness for users strugging in the Metaverse-based transport
Partner organisation: University of Technology Syndey, Australia
Dr Michael Lim, University of Glasgow
Project title: Towards a Creative Old Town District: A process evaluation study of the creative district development of Sakon Nakhon in North East Thailand
Partner organisations: Thammasat University, Thailand; Creative Economy Agency, Thailand
Professor David McGloin, University of Aberdeen
Project title: Terahertz beamshaping
Partner organisation: University of Technology Sydney, Australia
Dr Fiona Murphy, University of Strathclyde
Project title: Application of bioprinted 3D alveolar model for the hazard assessment of nanomaterials
Partner organisation: Pohang University of Science and Technology, South Korea
Dr Thanh Nguyen, Robert Gordon University
Project title: Deep learning solution for anomaly detection of underwater pipeline
Partner organisation: School of Information and Communication Technology, Griffith University, Australia
Professor Rob Ogden, University of Edinburgh
Project title: Golden Eagle conservation research – connecting expertise in Scotland and Japan
Partner organisations: Kyoto University, Japan; National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan; Nature Scot, Scotland
Dr Wenbo Zhan, University of Aberdeen
Project title: Evaluation and optimisation of thermosensitive hydrogel for controllable drug delivery against brain tumour
Partner organisations: Indian Institute of Technology, India; National University of Singapore, Singapore