Partnership Progress June 2023 – December 2024

UoR-NHM Partnership Progress Report June 2023 – December 2024

Executive Summary

Highlights and successes of the work carried out since June 2023 are outlined here, alongside challenges and opportunities as the partnership develops further. For further details please find here the full progress report for June 2023 to December 2024.

Highlights

  • We successfully delivered a series of six seminars on global environmental issues with accompanying masterclasses on leadership and collaboration skills, for a cross-institutional cohort of 17 participants.

  • Two joint PhD projects and one postdoc are underway. A Collaborative Fellowships Information Day encouraged joint applications for research fellowships, with several currently in progress.

  • Reciprocal visits have facilitated the sharing of information about our research infrastructure, and we have initiated plans to facilitate reciprocal access to our laboratories.

  • A joint Technicians Conference held in June 2024 focused on collaboration and career development for technicians.

  • A web presence has been established, complemented by successful internal communication channels at both institutions and by the production of postcards and banners.

Successes

  • Masterclass series attendees provided very positive feedback on the initiative, reporting increased confidence and motivation to develop interdisciplinary research projects.
  • Nine small-scale collaborative research and engagement projects have been supported through a seed funding opportunity, which is kickstarting joint work in a number of areas.
  • We have obtained funding from NERC and BBSRC for three collaborative doctoral training centres which focus on environmental and sustainability research, as well as data science.

Challenges

  • Ongoing evaluation and review of activities suggests a need for adaptation and improvement within the partnership, which is timely as NHM aims to begin building its site at TVSP in 2025.

Plans and opportunities

The partnership is committed to adapting and evolving to meet the needs of its stakeholders while pursuing goals shared by the institutions, particularly considering the opportunities arising around geographic proximity facilitated by the NHM Unlocked building at TVSP. 2025 will see a thorough evaluation of activities and a review of the partnership’s six priority areas. We will showcase collaborative research undertaken so far and drive further interaction in the areas of Archaeology, Crop Science, as well as Data Science and AI. We look forward to capitalising on the upcoming joint intake of students through the recently funded DFA and DLA programmes. Conversations around potential joint MSc programmes, focused on collections-based teaching and research, are also developing. Finally, as building work begins on the NHM site at TVSP, we will increase the focus on conversations around potential joint large-scale funding applications for analytical equipment and research infrastructure.