The region's knowledge-driven economy has been given a £10.5m financial helping hand.
North-East universities and partnership projects in the region were awarded the money from the Higher Education Innovation Fund.
It is the second time that HEIF grants have been distributed nationwide with a total of more than £185m being handed out over the next two years.
Among the awards for the region was a £1.4m grant to Knowledge House, an organisation set up to promote and fund academic and business joint projects in the North-East.
Based at Hylton Park, in Sunderland, Knowledge House is a collaborative venture between the universities of Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland, Teesside and the Open University in the North-East.
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