The partnership with Legal & General marks the University’s largest industry investment, as part of the £661m Data-Driven Innovation initiative within the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal.

ACRC will offer a seven-year multi-disciplinary research programme designed to improve understanding of care in later life and to revolutionise how it is delivered.

ACRC’s vision is that its research can enable data-driven, personalised and affordable care that delivers independence, dignity and a high quality of life for people living in their own homes or in supported care environments.

The University of Edinburgh’s grant-funded, academic-led ACRC programme will operate in the public interest, forming a major new strand in Legal & General’s drive towards Inclusive Capitalism.

The ACRC will work in partnership with other top tier universities to engage multiple public and private stakeholders, as well as individuals in later life, their families and communities. The ACRC will also include an Academy that will develop a new generation of enterprise-oriented leaders in later life care through a rigorous programme of cross-disciplinary research-based training.

As the UK’s largest pension fund investor with £1.2 trillion of assets under management, and a leading provider of longevity risk solutions and retirement products to millions of customers, Legal & General has deep insight into ageing populations.

Changing demographics around ageing will have a crucial impact on Legal & General’s customers, making this one of the company’s long-term strategic growth drivers.

Dr Nigel Wilson, group CEO of Legal & General, said: “Establishing the ACRC will revolutionise the UK’s commitment to understanding and addressing the huge issue of demographic change – part of a global challenge with significant social and economic impacts. Edinburgh’s academic-led, data-based and cross-disciplinary approach will deliver vital positive change to ageing and care and we find this a compelling and practical vision.

“The partnerships we are forging with premier institutions up and down the country, from the University of Oxford and Newcastle, to Bath University, UCL and now Edinburgh will help shift the dial in the delivery of science, technology and ageing care for many future generations to come.”