MORE than £350,000 is available to support innovation by North-East companies.

The Industrial Case Awards scheme is offering eight companies the chance to apply for grants of £48,000, over three years, to improve their research and development.

The grants pay for a studentship in which a PhD student is placed with a company to carry out research into meeting the industrial needs of small-to-medium sized businesses.

It is funded through the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) and administered by the Regional Technology Centre (RTC) North.

Anna Taylor, RTC North technology executive said: "The North-East region lags behind most other regions in the UK for research and development carried out, and these grants go a little way to helping the region keep up with the rest of the UK.

"The grants scheme offers companies the chance to benefit from the knowledge, equipment and support of an academic institution, helping them to stay at the cutting edge of their industries and remain global players in the highly competitive manufacturing world."

Last year, six companies received awards, including Swan Chemical Company, Bede Scientific Instruments and Nectar Electronics.

Any companies or academic institutions interested in applying for an award are asked to contact Anna Taylor, at RTC North, on 0191-516 4400.