Giving to Glasgow

Celebrating the home of world changing research

The month of June marks one year since the Mazumdar-Shaw Advanced Research Centre (ARC) opened its doors. Situated at the heart of the Western Campus development, the ARC is a hub of collaboration that aims to encourage creativity and drive transformative research that touches lives around the world.
 
Here at the University of Glasgow, we understand that we can make the biggest impact when we work together, and so the ARC has been meticulously designed to facilitate interdisciplinary research. From the building’s architecture to its cutting-edge technology, every aspect of the ARC inspires connection between the University’s schools so that we can find effective solutions to today’s global challenges. 
From healthcare and sustainability to the arts and culture, the ARC brings together a diverse range of disciplines to facilitate innovative research that has the potential to change the world. 
 
Life changing research
 
One of the many ambitious and world leading projects that has been advanced by the ARC’s facilities over the past 12 months is in relation to pioneering research into neurodegenerative disease. Led by Professor Andrew Tobin, Director of the ARC, the study has discovered a potential new drug treatment that may be able to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease.   
 
With over 55 million people living with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, breakthrough research such as this has the potential to improve lives around the world. While previous drug treatments have targeted the symptoms of Alzheimer’s, this latest discovery may be able to extend the lifespan of sufferers of this widespread disease. 
  
Enriching experiences 

Among the exciting projects that are being facilitated by the ARC, is Museums in the Metaverse, led by Dr Neil McDonnell. This project will make the most of the building’s state-of-the-art Extended Reality (XR) facility, ARC-XR, and harness the power of XR to create a ground-breaking culture and heritage platform.  
The platform will allow visitors to explore a huge array of assets digitally, meaning that more people than ever before may be able to enjoy some of the world’s most exciting collections. By removing the barriers of cost, travel and availability, Museums in the Metaverse aims to make cultural assets more accessible and offer exciting and enriching experiences to a wider audience.  
As well as enabling people to connect with art, history and culture, Museums in the Metaverse will address the limitations of scale that often constrain real-world exhibitions. Free from physical boundaries, curators will be able to create exhibitions in innovative and immersive new ways to engage, educate and inspire visitors around the world. 
  
Connecting with community 

As well as providing a home for innovative, interdisciplinary research, the ARC offers an open and inclusive environment for hosting public events that connect the University with the city of Glasgow and beyond. Aiming to cultivate community engagement with research, the ARC has been designed to remove barriers and nurture equitable partnerships. 
As part of the first birthday celebrations, the Mazumdar-Shaw Advanced Research Centre is hosting a series of public events. From an outdoor ceilidh to an exhibition of Research Firsts from the University’s research community, this diverse programme celebrates this spectacular building and shares the incredible work of the research teams with our wider community. 

This state-of-the art facility was made possible by the generosity of Glasgow’s donor community, including the building’s namesakes, John Shaw and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw. So much more than bricks and mortar, the ARC represents an opportunity to put Glasgow at the heart of world changing research and to make an impact that can be felt around the world

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