A UNIVERSITY in the North-East is one of 13 in the country that have united to help rebuild the academic strengths of two universities devastated by the tsunami.

The Indonesian universities lost almost one in ten of their staff and students, and suffered major damage to their infrastructure. They are still without direct communication links following the Boxing Day disaster.

Newcastle University is part of The British Universities' Scholarship Scheme for Higher Education Institutions in Aceh, Indonesia.

It will help two universities in Banda Aceh, strengthen the research and teaching skills of their junior academic staff to help fill the gaps.

As part of the agreement, each institution in the consortium will waive fees and cover living costs for one full Masters scholarship per year for the next four years.

Professor Christopher Edwards, vice-chancellor of Newcastle University, said: ""It is very gratifying to see the UK's higher education community working together on such a positive project. I hope that, in some small way, this scheme, and our contribution to it, will go towards helping the Indonesian people begin to rebuild their future."