Update from Professor Dame Jessica Corner

COP26, the United Nations Climate Conference, opens in Glasgow on 1 November, and I will be proud to lead a small delegation from our university at this incredibly important event.

We will carry a message of hope. We face the greatest challenge of our time yet a common purpose and shared determination to deliver innovative, bold solutions can truly change the world.

In Glasgow, we will highlight our discoveries, inform debate and seek to influence policies. And throughout the conference, look out for our researchers’  insights into their work and its impact on climate change.

You will find these on our COP26 web pages.  Please follow and help amplify our campaign on social media, including Twitter (@UoNresearch and @UoN_Institute) and look out for hashtags  #TogetherForOurPlanet and #COP26.

We are also connecting with the communities we serve and highlighting how our staff and students can get involved and make a difference.

Our research strategy consultation: thank you

My sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to the latest round of our reach strategy consultation. We asked colleagues from across our UK, China and Malaysia campuses for your views on a white paper that set out a framework to deliver a high-performing, inclusive research ecosystem.

In the UK, we had engagement with individuals and groups representing 10% of our community, with a 75% positivity rating from colleagues – a very good result! A breakdown of responses from China and Malaysia, together with further analysis, will follow.

We are grateful for the engagement of the university community over the past year in debating our research ambitions and how we can achieve them.

Informed by your insights, our research strategy for 2022-27 will be launched at the end of this year. Look out for dates in December to join me and colleagues at an in-person event where I will give an overview of the strategy and answer any questions you may have. In the new year we will hold further conversations with you, including a series of town halls, on its implementation. Your contribution remains vital as we work towards an agile and inclusive research ecosystem.

Read Dame Jessica’s full update