The new building will feature cutting edge facilities and flexible teaching laboratory space which will encourage collaboration between students from different disciplines.

Its flexible facilities will also support the University’s current public engagement and widening access activities.

The building will provide the main teaching laboratories for students studying, chemistry, physiology, biomedical sciences, geosciences and biological sciences.

The University has identified a site on its Old Aberdeen campus for the building - just off St Machar Drive near the Fraser Noble building, student Hub and Sir Duncan Rice Library.

An official public consultation period gets underway today during which time members of the local and wider community are invited to view plans and speak to University staff and the building’s architects.

Professor Sir Ian Diamond, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Aberdeen, said: “We are extremely excited about this new Science Teaching Hub and the benefits it will bring to our students.

“Our lecturers are world-leading and with this new facility, they will have cutting-edge resources to enable them to deliver the very highest standard of teaching. Overall it will lead to a first class learning environment for our students and will help us continue to attract the brightest minds from all over the world to come and study and live in the north-east of Scotland.”

Professor Dame Anne Glover, vice-principal of external affairs, added: “Society’s biggest problems will only be solved by scientists from different disciplines working together. These new open plan laboratories will provide an environment where science students from different disciplines can be taught together in a collaborative environment similar to the situation often found in their subsequent careers.

“The highly flexible space will also enable us to enhance our public engagement and widening access activities such as school children visits and workshops.”

The first public consultation event will be held at the Sir Duncan Rice Library on September 26 between 2pm and 8pm.

If approved, it is hoped that the building will be available for teaching in 2021.