International Research Culture Conference 2025
2025-09-17 | University of Warwick
Call for Abstracts and Proposals: International Research Culture Conference 2025

The International Research Culture Conference, hosted by the University of Warwick, is accepting abstracts and proposals for talks, posters or interactive workshops until 11 April 2025. Abstracts or proposals should relate to one or more of the following themes:

Collaboration, connectivity and sustainability

Metrics that matter – measuring progress for the future

Integrity, trust and transparency in research

Building and empowering inclusive research communities

Improving careers with and for future researchers and research enablers

Visit Warwick’s website for more information and to make a submission.

Our Research Culture Manager, Miranda Raven (m.raven@reading.ac.uk), is available to discuss abstracts and proposals.

Community Led Research Pilot (CLRP) Celebration Event
2025-09-17 16:00 - 19:00 (Europe/London) | Meadow Suite, Park House, Meadow Suite, Park House, RG6 6UR, United Kingdom
Join us as we celebrate the conclusion of the Community Led Research Pilot (CLRP) and honor the learning & achievements it inspired!
Welcome to the Community Led Research Pilot (CLRP) Celebration Event!
Please join us in person to celebrate six community led research projects based in Reading and Slough, sharing learnings through their project case studies and final report.
The Community Led Research Pilot was a pilot based in Reading and Slough, putting communities at the heart of the research process – inviting local groups to develop and deliver their own research. This initiative was funded by UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) and co-created with the University of Reading and the British Science Association.
Together as One
Together as One, a youth-led charity in Slough, worked to explore the link between engaging in environmental social action to improve young people’s mental health. Through training, youth work, and creative projects, they worked to investigate the potential positive effects of participating in an urban beekeeping project on the mental wellbeing of young people.
Slough Anti-Litter Society (SALS)
The Slough Anti-Litter Society, founded on a vision for a cleaner and greener Slough, encourages residents to clean up, reduce waste, and embrace sustainable practices. Through community litter picks, upcycling fashion events, clothes swaps, and a repair café they are bringing the community together. This community of volunteers worked to find out about the community’s attitude and behaviour toward littering, through community organising and digital technology.
Reading Hong Kongers
Reading HongKongers CIC, founded in 2022, supports Hongkongers who have settled in the Berkshire area through the government scheme of British National (Overseas) (BNO) visa route and supports them to integrate into the local community. They investigated the impacts of community gardening on belonging, identity, cohesion, biodiversity and mental wellbeing. Additionally, they aimed to find out the possibility of cultivating native Hong Kong plants and crops in Reading.
TRIYBE
TRIYBE are a community group in Reading who “Support communities and individuals to create positive change by challenging systems of oppression, racism and inequality”. They investigated the chemicals that go into commonly used black hair products and their impact on the health and cultural identity of the local community. This initiative aimed to address concerns about the potential health effects of these products and explore natural alternatives that promote both physical well-being and cultural empowerment.
The Engine Room
The Engine Room Sound Laboratory (TERSL) investigated how sound and acoustics influence the well-being of the Dee Park urban community. The project explored the sound of emotions through concrete, the impact of colours on well-being, and noise effects on concentration.
Integrated Research and Development Centre (IRDC)
The Integrated Research and Development Centre (IRDC) addresses health and environmental challenges in underrepresented communities, including Nepalese communities, in Reading. The project aims to improve gardening practices through Nepalese customs, composting management, and food waste recycling. By growing seasonal vegetables and flowers, the project seeks to educate communities about the importance of nutrition, promote physical exercise, recycle garden waste to improve the environment and people’s health and reduce social isolation. The project aims to engage with minority communities, low income groups, senior citizens and those with disabilities by promoting healthy living, environmental sustainability, mental health and belonging through inclusive gardening.
This event is a great opportunity to connect with community and academic researchers, explore how communities are reshaping what research and innovation can be, share insights, and celebrate the power, achievements and learning from participatory approaches to research together with the University of Reading, the British Science Association. Look forward to seeing you there!

Modernist Editing Symposium
2025-09-23 10:30 - 16:15 | Berkshire
This symposium brings together leading scholars and practitioners in modernist textual criticism and scholarly editing. Organised by Dr Buxi Duan and Lawrence Jones (CBCP), with support from the Samuel Beckett Research Centre and the Bibliographical Society UK. For details and to register, click here.

UK Reproducibility Network Training
2025-09-25 - 2025-12-12 | Berkshire
From September-December 2025, the UK Reproducibility Network (UKRN) is running a series of training workshops that are open to University of Reading research and professional services staff. For more information and details of how to register, please contact Reading’s UKRN Open Research Coordinator, Evangeline Gowie.
Please note: The registration deadline for all training is Wednesday 17th September 2025.

Project TIER/UKRN Workshop: Teaching Transparent Methods of Empirical Research
This course is a variant on the train-the-trainer model. The training provided in the workshop prepares participants to introduce reproducible methods of quantitative research to students in taught classes and/or supervised research. The course will begin with an exposition of practices that are essential to reproducible research, and then turn to a discussion of pedagogical strategies for incorporating them in quantitative methods instruction. It is aimed at:

Academics who teach courses in some aspect of data analysis, statistics, or quantitative research methods and/or supervise students conducting research involving analysis of statistical data.
Other staff who support instructors and/or provide support to students doing statistical analyses.
Staff with responsibilities for oversight of departmental or program curriculum.

Option 1 (virtual): Thursday 25 and Friday 26 September 2025
Option 2 (in person, KCL Waterloo Campus): Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 October 2025
Option 3 (virtual): Thursday 11 and Friday 12 December 2025

Implementation of the FAIR Principles
Appropriate management and curation of data is of increasing relevance to the current research landscape and planning for FAIR data from the beginning of a project is crucial, yet the FAIR principles are often conflated with open data and similar practices. Open Research practices and the FAIR principles are interlinked, therefore this training will support you to indicate to others how these two areas are complementary. It would be beneficial for anyone who has an interest in data curation and management at all stages throughout the data life cycle and has a role in supporting others to make their outputs FAIR. You will be shown a representative training session which links OR practices to FAIR outputs and gives an overview as to why the FAIR principles are relevant.

Tuesday 14 October 2025, 09.00-15.00, Online

Byte-sized RSE
This course is for Research Software Engineers (RSEs), researchers and postgraduates involved in computational research who already possess foundational computational skills and who are now:

looking for quick refreshers, tips, or wanting to improve the sustainability or quality of their research code and are keen on continuous learning without heavy time investment.
interested in advancing their skills and learning best practices for software in research.
seeking digestible content to bridge the gap between research and software and benefiting from short-form RSE tips/tools to improve their research workflows.

Lesson 1: Code Development & Debugging with IDEs, 11 November, 10:00 -12:00 (time TBC), online
Lesson 2: Code Style, Quality & Linting, 12 November, 10:00 -12:00 (time TBC), online
Lesson 3: Intermediate Git, 13 November, 10:00 -12:00 (time TBC), online
Lesson 4: Code Review, 18 November, 10:00 -12:00 (time TBC), online
Lesson 5: Unit Testing Code, 19 November, 10:00 -12:00 (time TBC), online
Lesson 6: Continuous Integration, 20 November, 10:00 -12:00 (time TBC), online

Experimental Design for Open and Reproducible Research: NC3Rs Experimental Design Assistant (EDA)
This course is for researchers, technicians, and all others involved in designing animal experiments and/or reviewing experimental design in colleagues’ or students’ work.

Thursday 13 November 2025, 10:00 – 16:00, online.

Responsible Research Metrics
This course is for librarians, professional services staff and researchers with an interest in research metrics. Attendees should have a knowledge of the metrics systems used by institutions to measure research outputs, as well as an understanding of the research workflow. Ideally, attendees will have a background in bibliometrics. Attendees will need to create a GitHub account, or have access to an institutional account, therefore it is preferable that attendees are already familiar with the GitHub web GUI.

Tuesday 18 November 2025, online (time TBC)

Electronic Lab Notebooks: best practice for data/metadata retention
This course is suitable for researchers, technicians, and research managers who want to promote best practice. It requires an in-depth knowledge of the research workflow and required documentation. Experience of supporting others and managing projects would be useful.

Wednesday 3 December 2025, 09.00-15.00, online

Bilingualism in the Hispanic and Lusophone World - 5th International Conference
2026-01-12 08:00 - 2026-01-19 17:00 | Berkshire
We are delighted to welcome you to the fifth international conference on Bilingualism in the Hispanic and Lusophone world (BHL), jointly organized by University of Reading and King’s College London.
This year’s conference will be hosted at the University of Reading, located in the vibrant city of Reading, UK, from the 12th to the 14th of January 2026.
​
Meet our Keynote speakers:
* Nicola Bermingham (University of Liverpool, UK) ​
* Laura Dominguez (University of Southampton, UK)
* Tim Laméris (Leiden University, NL)
* Cristóbal Lozano (Universidad de Granada, España)
* Patrick Rebuschat (Lancaster University, UK)
* Sílvia Perpiñán (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, España )

Bilingualism in the Hispanic and Lusophone world (BHL)
The BHL is a biennial international conference (Leiden 2015, 2019; Florida 2017; Puebla 2024) that brings together researchers working on different aspects of bilingualism in the Hispanic and Lusophone world to share new insights regarding methodology and extend and strengthen the dialogue on furthering our understanding of bilingualism. This biennial international conference has promoted Hispanic and Lusophone linguistics in the Netherlands, Florida, Mexico, and now in Reading. It serves a broad community of international scholars researching and teaching Hispanic and Portuguese linguistics.

The Conversation – training for researchers
2026-01-27 08:00 - 2026-02-05 17:00 | Online via Zoom
Would you like to build a media profile and take your research to a global public audience by writing for The Conversation? Register now for one of our upcoming training sessions.

What is The Conversation?
The Conversation is an independent, open-access news platform where academics work with professional journalists to produce research-based articles. Supported by over 80 UK and European universities, it helps bring academic insights into public debate.

The Conversation’s global network generates 23 million monthly page views, with a total monthly audience of at least 40.7 million reads including through republication.
Why attend this session?

Hear directly from an editor at The Conversation about what they look for in articles and how the editorial process works
Learn what makes a compelling story and how to pitch your ideas successfully
Explore article types and approaches with practical examples
Get tips on writing in an accessible, engaging style
Discuss your research with the editor and receive feedback on potential pitches

Training Dates & Registration

Tue 27 Jan, 14:00–16:00 – Agriculture, Food & Health – Register here
Thu 29 Jan, 14:00–16:00 – Environment – Register here
Tue 3 Feb, 14:00–16:00 – Heritage & Creativity – Register here
Thu 5 Feb, 14:00–16:00 – Prosperity & Resilience – Register here

Please note that there are a limited number of places so the session is open to academic staff only. If you sign up and then are no longer able to attend, please cancel your registration so that your place can be re-allocated to a colleague on the waiting list.

Deep Thinking on Systems and Complexity: What Are the Practical Insights for Transforming Food Systems?
2026-02-05 15:00 - 17:00 | Berkshire
Please join us for an inaugural external-facing event of the University of Reading’s Systems and Futures Hub on Thursday 5th February 2026.
The event brings together leading thinkers and practitioners to explore how deeper conceptual thinking about systems and complexity can inform real-world action, examining how complexity science, systems practice, and ecological insights can be applied to one of the world’s most pressing challenges: transforming food systems in adaptive, inclusive, and sustainable ways.
To confirm attendance, please register using the following link: Deep Thinking on Systems and Complexity Event Registration

About the Event:
Deep Thinking on Systems and Complexity: What Are the Practical Insights for Transforming Food Systems?
Thursday, 5 February 2026 | 15:00–17:00 (GMT)
University of Reading – Henley Business School, Room G10
Drinks reception to follow
This professional dialogue will explore how deeper conceptual thinking about systems and complexity can inform real-world action to transform food systems. This session will bring together leading thinkers and practitioners to discuss how complexity science, systems practice, and ecological insights can be applied to one of the world’s most pressing challenges.
Speakers

Dr. Jean Boulton – a complexity scientist, strategic advisor and visiting academic at the University of Bath and Cranfield School of Management. With a background in theoretical physics, she has spent over three decades helping organizations and policymakers apply complexity thinking to strategy, sustainability and systemic change. She is lead author of Embracing Complexity and The Dao of Complexity, and is widely recognized for translating complex systems theory into practical, real-world insights.
Dr. Corinna Hawkes – is Director of the Division of Agrifood Systems and Food Safety at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), where she leads global initiatives to transform food systems for better nutrition, health and sustainability. She previously directed the Centre for Food Policy at City, University of London, and is widely recognized for her work on food systems, healthy diets and evidence-informed policy. Her leadership focuses on bringing systems thinking into practice to drive coherent and equitable food system change.
Dr. Tom Oliver – Professor of Applied Ecology at the University of Reading, works at the interface of biodiversity, environmental risk and complex systems. He has advised the UK government, the European Commission and other expert bodies on environmental policy and resilience. Tom is also the author of the forthcoming book The Self Delusion, which explores the science of interconnectedness and its implications for society and sustainability.

Programme:
15:00 | Official Welcome – Professor Lisa Methven
15:05 | Introduction – Dr. Jim Woodhill, Director, Agrifood Systems and Futures Hub
15:10 | Presentation – Dr. Jean Boulton: What Does Complexity Science and Systems Thinking Offer to Change Makers in Difficult Times
15:25 | Presentation – Dr. Corinna Hawkes: Putting Systems Approaches into Practice for Transforming the Food System – Challenges and Opportunities
15:40 | Response – Professor Tom Oliver: Implications for Our Work at Reading
15:45 | Panel Discussion and Open Q&A
14:45 | Final Reflections – Professor Carol Wagstaff
17:00 | Close, followed by drinks reception and networking – Blandford Room (Park House)

To confirm attendance, please register using the following link: Deep Thinking on Systems and Complexity Event Registration
We hope you can join us for an engaging and forward-looking conversation.

Centenary Community Festival 2026 – apply now!
2026-05-16 - 2026-05-17 | Whiteknights campus, University of Reading, Whiteknights Campus, Reading, RG6 6AH, United Kingdom
The University of Reading’s annual Community Festival is a free, family-friendly event celebrating the amazing research, creativity and community spirit that make Reading special. As part of the University’s centenary year, this year’s event has been renamed the Centenary Community Festival, marking 100 years of the University’s connection with the town and community. The festival brings together staff, students, alumni, local residents, community groups, businesses and partners for a day packed with live performances, interactive activities, food, music and fun for all ages.
The research programme includes a research ‘exhibition’ featuring c.20 stands with hands-on activities, a programme of children’s talks and research talks, and some workshops or panel discussions. As well as showcasing our research in an accessible way, this is also an opportunity for researchers to gain experience of public engagement with research in a festival setting. The research activities are popular and have been well received by both visitors and participants. 👉 Participate in the Centenary Community Festival

Applications are now open for research activities and talks for the 2026 Community Festival. Researchers are invited to read the guidelines​ carefully and complete the application form by 23:59 on Friday 30 January 2026 to be considered.

Researchers from all disciplines are encouraged to apply, regardless of previous public engagement experience. If you have any questions about the event, please contact the Research Communications and Engagement team at research@reading.ac.uk.
