Dr Brian Crook, technical lead for Microbiology at HSL, has recently returned from Romania where he took part in an assessment exercise of the biology departments of five Universities.The aim of the project, which was co-finanaced through the European Social Fund, was to provide an insight into how international quality research is developing in Romania.

As part of the Romanian Research Assessment Exercise (RRAE) Dr Crook and participants from other European countries and Canada assessed the selected universities on their research infrastructure; output from scientific research activities, prestige and performance in the academic community and financial resources available for scientific research.

Dr Crook said, 'It was an  honour to be invited to take part. It was a fascinating opportunity to assess and advise on the future direction of academic and applied research' he continued, 'It was clear that some very important research is being undertaken in Romania and I'm pleased that HSL's experience in applied research was of assistance.'