An anonymous donor has pledged £10million to fund a new Edinburgh University hub that is designed to address some of society’s most pressing concerns.

The gift – the biggest such capital donation to the university – will help transform part of the former Royal Infirmary building into a state-of-the-art home for the Edinburgh Futures Institute.

The institute will bring together researchers from across the university with other partners to tackle major issues within the economy, education and societies across the world.

It will be one of the largest centres for such cross-expertise in learning, research and problem-solving in Europe.

The £10m gift will help give the institute a permanent home in a wing of the Category A-listed former Royal Infirmary, which is now part of the Quartermile development.

The restored building, which will be open to the wider public, is due to be complete in 2021. It has lain empty since 2003.

University Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Timothy O’Shea said: “The institute will challenge us to think differently about how we can affect change, both locally and globally.

"By marrying our world-class expertise in the humanities, arts and social sciences with our sector-defining research in new data technologies, it will produce practical solutions and new approaches for the common good.

"This generous gift will help realise this vision.”

Vice-Principal Professor Dorothy Miell, Head of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, said: “The world is experiencing major changes: climate volatility, political discontent, advances in artificial intelligence, economic upheavals.

"This presents big challenges.

"We need different ways of thinking about these issues and of devising new solutions.

“Edinburgh Futures Institute will make that difference. It will blend theoretical and practical knowledge. It will work with organisations dealing directly with these challenges and curate meaningful interactions between seemingly disparate disciplines. We want our students to embody this approach and our partners to share the vision and help us to develop it.”

Rab Bennett, founding director and architect, Bennetts Associates, said: “Transforming the Category A-listed Royal Infirmary into the University’s Edinburgh Futures Institute is an incredibly important project for the institution and for the city.

"The building is one of the top-ten listed buildings in Edinburgh. It has enormous potential for rejuvenation, providing a completely new and more open identity, especially with a public square on Lauriston Place.

“We have a unique opportunity for this to become a world-renowned example of respectful and innovative modernisation, by preserving key original features, while adapting the building for modern use.”