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More than 50 universities will benefit from 240 awards announced this week in the latest round of the Government's Joint Research Equipment Initiative, writes Julia Hinde.

The annual awards started in 1996. This year sees Pounds 75 million ploughed into research equipment - Pounds 35 million of it from the government, via the research councils and the higher education funding councils, the rest from industry and charities. It brings total investment through JREI over the past three years to more than Pounds 200 million.

Among this year's big winners was Paisley University, which receives Pounds 154,000 from the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council, with matched funding from industry, for an experimental lime kiln, eventually to be used in restoring historic Scottish buildings.