M5 Universities launch online equipment sharing database

The M5 group of Midlands research-intensive universities have launched a new website which includes a searchable database detailing each piece of equipment that can be shared across all M5 universities. The M5 Group of universities - Nottingham , Birmingham, Leicester, Loughborough, Warwick and Aston - was established to boost research collaboration and improve sharing of equipment. The group are developing the tools needed to make such sharing work in future and hope this will lead to increased efficiencies in terms of use of expensive equipment. The new searchable online database includes details of the equipment that can be shared, its location and details and to make bookings. A costing model has also been agreed. The website is accessible here. The M5 group are also beginning to exploring if they can take such equipment sharing further into jointly procuring maintenance / servicing if the registers show clusters of similar equipment across the institutions that could be brought under single service contracts.