Glasgow University has unveiled plans for a major investment in a new waterfront campus on the Clyde.
The university said the £100 million development would be located in the historic former shipbuilding community of Govan on the south bank of the river.
Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli, the university principal, said the development could make the city synonymous with innovation in the same way it was identified with shipbuilding and heavy industry in the 20th century.
The Clyde Waterfront Innovation Campus (CWIC) will act as a centre of excellence for a range of new technologies, co-locating industry and world-class research, and will see hundreds of new jobs located in Govan.
READ MORE: Glasgow University given green light to expand
The main developments will include an enhanced James Watt Nanofabrication Centre (JWNC) and a Precision Medicine Living Laboratory.
The JWNC will focus on quantum technology and photonics, enabling the co-location of high-quality academic teams with industrial experts in new state-of-the-art facilities.
The Precision Medicine Living Laboratory hopes to strengthen Glasgow and Scotland’s existing position as a world-leader in the field.
The project already has financial backing of £28m from the university and £27.5m from the Glasgow City Region City Deal. Further investment bids will bring the total to in excess of £100m.
The site for the new campus is currently a disused car park at the southern end of the Clyde tunnel, near the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
Sir Anton said: "The university's plans for investment in Govan are an incredibly exciting new chapter for the university and the city and can be as transformational for Govan and the Clyde Waterfront as our move to the West End from the City Centre was in 1870.
READ MORE: Residents told to expect disruption as Glasgow University expands
“As Glasgow’s largest university, we are determined to play a full and active part in the public life of our city and our new campus on the south bank of the Clyde will see even more of Glasgow’s communities benefit from our activity.
“Shipbuilding and heavy industry in Govan and on the Clyde waterfront were the pillars of Glasgow’s industrial excellence in the 19th and 20th centuries.
"I have no doubt the innovation agenda and industries like quantum technology, nanofabrication and precision medicine can be to the 21st century Glasgow economy what shipbuilding was in the past."
The campus development comes as Glasgow University outgrows facilities on Gilmorehill, in the west end.
Dr Sara Diegoli, strategic projects manager, said: "It is in a Victorian building so we have some constraints when it comes to expansion."
Professor Dame Anna Dominiczak, head of the College of Medicine, added: "Our current clinical innovation zone will be soon full.
"Bringing industry, NHS and academia together could put Scotland on the map."
Susan Aitken, leader of Glasgow City Council, welcomed the development.
She said: "The work being done to regenerate Govan and the banks of the Clyde is key to attracting and developing world-class innovation in this part of the city.”
"It isn't just about those high-tech academic jobs, it's about all the other things that come with it.
"We are building homes, there will be new commercial and retail units, all sorts of new opportunities are being created."
There are also plans to establish invention rooms for use by local school pupils.
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