TWO North-East universities will benefit from an £8m investment announced by Business Secretary Vince Cable.

The £4m allocation from the Government - matched by £4m from other sources – will be used to train bioscientists at Newcastle, Durham and Liverpool universities.

The investment is part of a £125m boost to drive the economy of the future.

It is hoped that a new generation of scientists will lead the next industrial revolution, boosting our health and providing high-quality, sustainable food.

The £125m will be invested over five years to support the training and development of 1,250 PhD students.

The funding will train students in world-class bioscience to boost the economy by building on UK strengths in agriculture, food, industrial biotechnology, bioenergy and health.

The investment has been made by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

Business Secretary Vince Cable said: "This new funding will safeguard Britain's status as a world leader in life sciences and agricultural technology."

Professor Barry Hirst of Newcastle University said: "All three universities are pleased to play a key role in training students in the North of England as part of this national programme, helping to keep the region at the forefront of scientific development. Through additional funding from other sources, the Newcastle, Liverpool and Durham BBSRC Doctoral Training partnership will be doubling this investment by BBSRC to ensure 80 students are trained in the partnership as part of this exciting national programme."

Of the 1,250 students, 30 per cent of students will be trained in agriculture and food security, 20 per cent in industrial biotechnology and bioenergy, 10 per cent in bioscience for health, and the remaining 40 per cent in other world-class frontier bioscience to help fuel future discoveries.