Roslin Institute Labs in Awards Shortlist

Laboratories at the University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute have been shortlisted in an international prize for innovation in laboratory accommodation.

The S-Lab Awards are a unique initiative to create better linkages between, and highlight best practice amongst, all the key players involved in laboratory design, operation and management.

S-Lab (Safe, Successful and Sustainable Laboratories) is part of the Good Campus group which provides guidance, networking and tools on sustainability - and especially energy and resource efficiency - in knowledge-intensive organisations.

The S-Lab programme aims to create more sustainable laboratories, and to raise sustainability awareness amongst lab-using staff and students.

The Roslin Institute, which receives strategic funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, is a finalist in the category "New Laboratories - Research". The Institute's laboratories have been recognised for uniting scientists working in complimentary research, introducing new ways of working and encouraging flexibility in approaches to science.

We are delighted to have been shortlisted for this award. It is testament to the original design of The Roslin Institute Building and how the scientists now work within it.

The entries in the S-Lab Awards cover topics such as best practice design of new and refurbished lab facilities, the importance of technical support, application of lean production principles to lab practice, better chemical and sample management, sharing of equipment, environmental improvement actions, more effective use of freezers, and the growing impact of IT within both research and teaching.

The University of Edinburgh has also been shortlisted in the categories "Laboratory-Related Teaching and Learning" (Improving Confidence in Student Science Teachers) and "Making a Difference" (Chancellor's Building Environmental Improvement Team).

The 2014 Awards shortlist shows that laboratory design, management and operation are changing in response to new knowledge and technologies, competitive, financial and other pressures, and user expectations. The result is better research and teaching, more cost-effective operation - which can create more resource for actual science - and reduced environmental impact.

The Awards will be presented at a prestigious ceremony preceding the Supporting World Class Science conference at King's College, London on September 2-3.

For more information see the S-Lab section of www.goodcampus.org.