THE UNIVERSITY of Southampton has been awarded in the region of £15m to fund three new centres to train the scientists of the future.

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council is funding the three new centres for postgraduate PhD students.

The funding will help to pay for ten postgraduate students per year in each of the three centres which will open within the university’s existing buildings next October.

The centres will cover three different areas; complex systems simulation, transport and environment and web science.

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Phil Nelson, deputy vicechancellor at the University of Southampton said: “The three new centres at the University of Southampton will provide a new wave of engineers and scientists to find answers to many of the challenges we face in the 21st century, build a strong economy and keep the UK globally competitive.”

The Complex Systems Simulation centre will help scientists address global problems such as climate change, the need for better drugs, the shortage of resources and the effectiveness of global communications.

Southampton University is one of 44 establishments nationwide to benefit from a share of the £250m initiative.

The university has received more money to create the pioneering centres than the university of Cambridge.