Research spawns 200 jobs

Swansea University plans to recruit 100 researchers to work in its new Pounds 50 million Institute of Life Sciences, and is expecting at least another 100 jobs to be created through related spin-off firms.

Recruitment of researchers is planned to start when the institute, which will house one of the fastest computers in the world, opens next year.

Swansea says it will be looking for people prepared to work in an interdisciplinary environment and with expertise in a wide range of areas.

Research posts will be created over the next five years, during which time about 30 spin-off companies are expected to be formed. The institute, part-funded by the Welsh Development Agency, the Welsh European Funding Office and IBM, will support research into ways of treating diseases and delivering healthcare.

It will host a European Deep Computing Visualisation Centre for Medical Applications, including IBM's supercomputer "Blue C".

Julian Hopkin, head of the institute and of Swansea's School of Medicine, said: "It will help us identify new solutions to existing problems in mainstream diseases such as diabetes, cancer and cardiac ailments."

Richard Davies, Swansea's vice-chancellor, said: "By creating a world-class facility we have a sustainable engine for the knowledge economy, working with spin-off companies and attracting inward investment."