TWO centres for excellence in music and healthcare studies are to be established in the North-East following an injection of £9m in Government cash.

Hundreds of future musicians and health professionals will be trained using the very latest methods at the centres, which will forge stronger links between the region's universities and organisations such as NHS hospitals, primary care trusts and The Sage Gateshead.

The two North-East Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning were among 74 successful bids to the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

They were backed by a consortium involving the six universities in the North-East.

Professor Ella Ritchie, Newcastle University's pro vice-chancellor, said: "These awards are a wonderful boost to teaching and learning in the North-East and they recognise and reward the great enthusiasm and innovation that is already a feature of higher education here."

Each centre for excellence will get £4.5m over the next five years, with £2m of each award intended for capital projects.

Both centres will be "virtual", with various outlets operating throughout the North-East, rather than at one central site.

At Newcastle University, rehearsal rooms and sound studios will be built, and there will be an investment in instruments, ranging from sitars to drum kits and electronic equipment.