Research collaborations

The University of St Andrews supports the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) strategy of developing research pooling across Scottish higher education institutions.

The aim of research pooling is to develop a radically new research landscape in Scotland with powerful well-resourced research communities, attractive to leading researchers from around the world, and producing world-class research fundamental to building a flourishing knowledge economy.

Key features of pooling are:

agreement and coordination of a pan-Scottish research strategy within defined individual research areas
sharing of major facilities and equipment
joint doctoral training programmes that will attract PhD students from across the UK and around the world.

St Andrews has taken a leading role from the development of the concept of pooling through to inception and operation. Funding from the SFC has been matched by other higher education institutions and other sources amounting to a very significant investment.

St Andrews is a partner in the research pools listed below.

Edinburgh and St Andrews Chemistry research school
The Universities of St Andrews and Edinburgh formed EaStCHEM in 2004 to combine the research activities of two of Scotland’s leading schools of chemistry. EaStCHEM is now recognised for excellence in both core and interdisciplinary chemistry with its wide-ranging research themes reflecting the relevance of modern chemistry in solving important global challenges and improving lives.

EaStCHEM ranked second in the REF 2014 'Power Table' with 80 academics submitted and 95% of research papers classed as world-leading or internationally excellent. The collaborative environment provided by EaStCHEM was assessed as excellent with all aspects rated as internationally or nationally leading.

The strength and ethos of EaStCHEM is particularly evident in the complementary instrumentation provided by both schools of chemistry resulting in the provision of exceptional state of the art facilities and instrumentation.

Key research areas in St Andrews are:
- chemical biology
- energy materials
- organic and inorganic synthesis
- homogeneous catalysis
- solid state chemistry
- surface science.
Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland

The Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland (MASTS) was launched in 2009 in following the award of seven years funding by the SFC. MASTS is a consortium of organisations engaged in marine science and represents the majority of Scotland's marine research capacity.

This pooling of marine research talent has a constituency of some 700 researchers with the management of resources consisting of over £66 million annually.

MASTS had the ambition to become an integral and important part of the national framework of excellence in marine science in Scotland and was awarded an additional five years of funding for MASTS Phase II.

MASTS is a partnership between the universities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Napier, Glasgow, Heriot-Watt, Highlands and Islands, St Andrews, Stirling, Strathclyde and the West of Scotland.
Scottish Alliance for Geoscience, Environment and Society

The Scottish Alliance for Geoscience, Environment and Society (SAGES) pools world-leading expertise in geoscience and environmental science from across Scotland’s research base, creating a multi-disciplinary alliance at the forefront of earth and environmental research and education. SAGES is a partnership between the universities of Aberdeen, Abertay Dundee, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Highlands and Islands (through SAMS), St Andrews, Stirling and West of Scotland, the British Geological Survey and SUERC (the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre).
Scottish Imaging Network: a Platform for Scientific Excellence
SINAPSE is a consortium of seven Scottish universities; Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, St Andrews, Stirling, and Strathclyde. It has been established with funding from the SFC, the Chief Scientist Office, and the partner Universities.

SINAPSE areas of expertise include
- MRI and advanced techniques
- PET and SPECT molecular imaging; especially radiochemistry
- EEG and fMRI (cognitive neuroimaging)
- image analysis, including deep learning in medical imaging
- imaging trials
- partnership working.
The first phase of funding for SINAPSE included a Graduate School between the Universities with support for 24 PhD studentships, a number eventually increased to 45 through subsequent successful funding bids, particularly the SPIRIT programme. Also supported were the appointment of SINAPSE Chairs in imaging-related disciplines and post-doctoral research fellows.

The current phase of funding for SINAPSE carries forward the focus on research, knowledge exchange, and education in medical imaging. Whereas activities in the first phase of SINAPSE were largely restricted to the original six partner Universities because of the structure of the network at the time, SINAPSE membership is now open to all imaging researchers around Scotland.
Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance

SICSA promotes international excellence in University-led research, education, and knowledge exchange for Scottish Informatics and Computer Science. SICSA is an SFC-funded Research Pool comprising all 14 Scottish Higher Education Computer Science and Informatics Schools and Departments.

SICSA funding has enabled SICSA members to recruit over 90 high-quality PhD students from across the world through our Prize Studentship Programme. Similarly, SICSA has provided member institutions with the opportunity to recruit some of the world’s best researchers to their Schools. SICSA delivers a range of programmes and activities to support Computing Science researchers at all levels in Scotland. These include the annual SICSA PhD conference, which gives our students the opportunity to present their work, network with other students and interact with potential industrial collaborators, and the seven research themes in areas such as AI and HCI, which foster collaboration across Scotland.
Scottish Institute for Policing Research

The Scottish Institute for Policing Research (SIPR) was established in 2007 and supported during its initial 5-year phase by investment from the Scottish Funding Council and the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland. SIPR is a collaboration between Police Scotland and 14 Scottish universities established to carry out high quality, independent research and to make evidence-based contributions to policing policy and practice.

The consortium of higher education institutions involved in SIPR are Abertay Dundee, Dundee, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Napier, Glasgow, Glasgow Caledonian, Heriot-Watt, Queen Margaret, Robert Gordon, St Andrews, Stirling, Strathclyde, the West of Scotland, and the Open University in Scotland.
Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance
Scottish Universities Physics Alliance

SUPA is the Scottish Universities Physics Alliance, a strategic alliance of eight Physics Schools with a shared strategy for research with funding from the Scottish Funding Council (SFC). SUPA members are the universities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Heriot-Watt, St Andrews, Strathclyde and West of Scotland.

Launched in 2004 with the aim of placing Scotland at the forefront of research in physics through co-ordinated promotion and pursuit of excellence, SUPA has been highly successful in establishing Scotland as a recognised international leader in research and advanced post-graduate training in physics.

SUPA is a community of over 1200 physicists (academics, research staff and post-graduate students) across Scotland.

Research collaborations

EaStCHEM

MASTS

SAGES

SINAPSE

SICSA

SIPR

SULSA

SUPA