Met Office Academic Partnership

The University of Reading has been a member of the Met Office Academic Partnership (MOAP) with a Met Office Joint Chair (MOJC) since 2010.

The University of Reading considers its partnership with the Met Office to be of utmost importance, and it is committed to maintaining this significance in the future. The enhancement of weather and climate services serves as a guiding principle for our collaborative research with Met Office, fostering a mutually beneficial exchange of skills  between our two organizations, ranging from students to Chief Scientists.

MOAP Collaboration

• 100 collaborative research activities were identified between the Met Office and the University of Reading between 2017-2022. More details here
• >700 peer-reviewed papers have been co-authored by members from both institutions in the last decade.  More details here
• 24 Scientists from MetOffice@Reading work at the University, the largest contingency of MO staff outside Exeter headquarters.
• 3 joint University of Reading and Met Office posts facilitate direct pull through of research to Met Office operations. Professor Jonathan Gregory, Professor Helen Dacre (MOJC) and Dr Guannan Hu
• >100 PhD students are currently being trained in weather/climate-related areas, about a quarter of which are co-supervised by MO staff. Many are supported within our SCENARIO and AFESP doctoral programmes, with the Met Office an active partner.
• >150 University of Reading graduate alumni work at the Met Office.
• Professor Peter Clark is a Met Office Honorary Fellow - recognised for his scientific  contribution to high resolution atmospheric modelling.

Research at Reading

The University of Reading has a strong and diverse research environment in weather/climate-related research which provides a powerful springboard for MOAP activities.

• In the UK’s 2021 Research Evaluation Framework the University's Earth System and Environmental Sciences  received a 100% rating “conducive to world-leading research and outstanding impact” for "research environment” (REF 2021).
• The University of Reading is ranked 5th (the highest-ranked UK institution) in the Shanghai Global World Ranking for Atmospheric Sciences.
• The University of Reading  has the largest Meteorology program in Europe, comprising over 200 academic and research scientists, and students. The University hosts around 60 scientists from NERC National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS), 18 scientists from NERC National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO) and 24 Scientists from the Met Office
• The University of Reading, the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF), the Met Office and NCAS have launched a new research Programme on Advancing the Frontiers of Earth System Prediction (AFESP).  This £30million 15-year investment will deliver sustained investments to tackle some of the most difficult research challenges in global Earth System prediction.