Research update by Professor Dame Jessica Corner

The government has announced that the national legal restrictions put in place to limit the transmission of Covid-19 will be lifted over the coming weeks. Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Andy Long has this week communicated what this means for our university.

Our research has been back at full capacity for some time and researchers and colleagues who support research are encouraged to continue to conduct their work on campus, while following safety measures. We continue to strongly encourage our staff and student community to follow safety guidelines that will limit the spread of Covid-19. These include:

• self-isolating after testing positive for Covid-19
• reporting positive test results to the university
• wearing face coverings in indoor spaces
• testing weekly, and staying up to date on vaccinations
• ventilating and monitoring air quality in buildings

Our remarkable response to Covid

We can all meanwhile take pride in the university’s response to Covid, with our researchers exploring the pandemic’s impact on every aspect of our lives.

Please take a look at the web pages dedicated to our response to the virus. This involved hundreds of colleagues, working in transdisciplinary teams to tackle an unprecedented crisis.

As we enter this phase of ‘Living with Covid-19’ our research will continue to help the UK recover and anticipate further global challenges.

My research update also includes progress on our renewed research strategy, including supporting new and emerging interdisciplinary research collaborations, and engaging with colleagues across the university on the business case for a Zero Carbon Research and Innovation Cluster.

Read Dame Jessica’s full update