Dutch gov't pushes €197 mil. into 11 research facilities vital for "scientific position"
The Dutch Research Council (NWO) is investing €197 million into 11 projects related to the construction or renovation of essential research infrastructures. The projects include a TU Delft consortium working on a detailed virtual model of the Dutch energy system and a UMC Utrecht consortium developing an MRI scanner that can scan moving subjects, the agency announced.
According to the NWO, these facilities are of great value to science, but also to the social and economic prosperity of the Netherlands. They’ll be widely accessible to Dutch researchers to help advance their studies. The funds were made available to the NWO by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
According to Education Minister Gouke Moes, the Netherlands needs advanced research instruments like medical scanners and energy simulators to conduct state-of-the-art research and remain a world leader in scientific research.
“By supporting the development and purchase of instruments, the government is laying a solid foundation for new research that will strengthen our economy and help solve major social issues,” Moes said. “Furthermore, we can immediately ensure that these research instruments are widely accessible, so that we can make the best possible use of them.”
“Groundbreaking scientific research is increasingly dependent on large and extremely valuable equipment and other facilities. It is good to see that we in the Netherlands are able to invest in this,” said NWO president Marcel Levi. “This enables us to contribute even more to innovation and solutions for major societal issues, such as energy consumption, better understanding and treatment of disease, designing smarter materials, and handling large data files.”
