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Institute commended at BBSRC Excellence with Impact competition

The Babraham Institute’s impact in working to achieve openness around the use of was recognised at the BBSRC Fostering Innovation Awards last night. The ceremony celebrated the winners of two BBSRC innovation and impact competitions, Excellence with Impact and Innovator of the Year.

The Excellence with Impact competition aimed to encourage institutions to be proactive about identifying ways to maximise impact from their research and to support institution-wide culture change towards achieving impact and innovation. Thirty participants took part in the competition which ran from 2013-2015 with the Babraham Institute being one of the ten shortlisted finalists.

The commendations recognised Excellence with Impact participants who demonstrated outstanding practice in particular areas.

Dr Simon Cook, Head of Knowledge Exchange at the Babraham Institute said: “We’re delighted to have received a commendation for the Institute’s progress towards openness about the use of animals in research. Our participation in the BBSRC’s Excellence with Impact competition was a sustained commitment to maximise impact from all strands of the Institute’s activities, including how we work to share our science with others to accelerate its application in healthcare, building links with stakeholders, and rewarding impact excellence internally. The lasting legacy of this competition is the creation of an engaged community of researchers, ensuring that we continue to go from strength to strength in terms of recognising and achieving impact.”

Martin Donnelly, Permanent Secretary at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, who attended last night’s event and presented the commendations, said: “In the UK we can be very proud of our excellence in bioscience. I am delighted to congratulate the outstanding winners of BBSRC’s impact and innovation competitions. Their determination and imagination demonstrate why the UK continues to punch above its weight in science and research, creating high value jobs across the UK.”

Professor Melanie Welham, BBSRC Chief Executive, said: “Every single one of the participants in both competitions deserve our praise and thanks for having the vision and drive to take research from the lab and make a tangible impact in the world.”

Professor Michael Wakelam, Institute Director, concluded by saying: “I’d like to congratulate all members of the Institute on this shared success. It’s immensely satisfying to review the many positive impacts that have arisen out of the Institute’s participation in the competition and I’m extremely pleased that our commitment to openness in animal research was recognised in particular.”
 

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