4 October 2012
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MEP, who represents the South West at the European Parliament, says research needs to be a priority. |
Research must continue to be a priority despite the economic downturn, the MEP for the South West said while on a visit to Bournemouth University.
Julie Girling, MEP for the South West and Gibraltar, heard about some of the cutting edge research taking place at Bournemouth University on her visit to Talbot Campus on October 1 2012.
She attended presentations by the National Centre for Computer Animation, which is based in BU's Media School and received the Queen’s Anniversary Prize in February for its contribution to the industry, and heard about Google Under The Earth - a collaboration between archaeologists in the School of Applied Sciences and Google Earth which allows anyone to access files and photos gathered on university digs.
She also toured new sports facilities on campus and discussed research into invasive fish species which is being done by Professor Rudy Gozlan at the university.
Mrs Girling, who sits on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee within the European Parliament and is also a member on the Fisheries Committee, said: “Clearly, Bournemouth University is going places so I wanted to find out what was happening.
“It has a lot to offer to me. We talked a little bit about research that is being done into invasive species, which is a very hot topic in the European Parliament and I have been working on it, so that has been really interesting.”
She added: “I really just want to try and add to all the work that Bournemouth University is doing and show people really how important it is, how important research is and how important it is that we keep funding research.
“We may be having some economic difficulties but we need to think of the future and we need to keep funding and keep moving forward.”
Mrs Girling also spoke to the Pro-VE Conference, which is taking place over three days at AFC Bournemouth and has been organised by academics from BU’s School of Design, Engineering and Computing.
The conference is on the theme of the internet and collaborative networks, and has attracted delegates from as far afield as Australia and Paris.
Mrs Girling said: “In the time that it has been with us, Bournemouth University has really forged an excellent reputation in a number of areas and the virtual enterprise issue is one which they have done a huge amount of work on and they are going to be taking forward in a big way.
“I can see a number of synergies with companies here in the South West that Bournemouth University has been really fostering good relationships with.”
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