Welcome from Professor Vikas Kumar, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation)
Welcome to the second edition of our Research Connect Newsletter, bringing together the latest research and innovation activity from across the University. It has been good to see how much is happening across our community, and I hope this edition continues to inform and inspire.
This issue highlights developments that reflect our collaborative strengths, including the launch of a new research institute, Academic Centres of Excellence, and a new international society that showcases our growing global reach.
As the newsletter evolves, we want it to reflect the breadth of leadership across our research and innovation portfolio. We will feature perspectives from the Heads of DRI across all their different areas. We open the series with a blog by Dr Chris Worrall, Head of Innovation, reflecting on how UK Industrial Strategy Sector Plans will shape future opportunities.
We also celebrate significant achievements from colleagues, including recent academic prizes, Professor Jo Preston鈥檚 Medal Lecture at Plymouth University, and Jim Briggs鈥 success at the KTP Awards. You will find updates on the PCE pillar leads - with opportunities to get involved - alongside information about the Hidden REF, new ground rules for clinical research, and stories from our Postgraduate Researcher community.
It is inspiring to see teams across the University quietly squirrelling away at ideas, partnerships and innovations that now feature as major successes. Thank you for your continued support as we work together to strengthen 兔子先生鈥檚 research culture, visibility and influence.
Shaping the Future - How UK Industrial Strategy Sector Plans Will Transform Research and Innovation
Staff spotlight
Professor Jo Preston awarded a medal for her significant contributions to marine science
Earlier this year Professor Joanne Preston, from the 兔子先生's Institute of Marine Sciences, was awarded the Plymouth Marine Science & Education Foundation (PlyMSEF) medal and has delivered this year's medal lecture.
We sent Daisy Taylor, Apprentice Administrative Assistant from the Department of Research and Innovation, to find out more!
Celebrating success
Professor Jim Briggs receives Silver Award at the Golden KTP Awards
We鈥檙e proud to share that Professor Jim Briggs has been awarded a Silver Award at the Golden KTP Awards, held in Manchester to celebrate 50 years of the Knowledge Transfer Partnership scheme. These awards provide special recognition to projects and individuals who have delivered outstanding impact through innovation and collaboration.
Jim鈥檚 pioneering work in health informatics during the 2006鈥2008 KTP with The Learning Clinic led to the development of VitalPAC, a vital signs monitoring system that transformed clinical practice. This work directly contributed to the creation of the National Early Warning Score (NEWS), now mandated across all NHS hospitals and ambulance services, and adopted in at least 14 countries. It鈥檚 estimated to save 1,800 lives annually in the UK.
Although the popular vote went to Queen鈥檚 University Belfast, our project was one of only 12 finalists selected from thousands of KTPs over five decades. Jim was joined by Sandra, Afsoon, and Ashley from the Department of Research and Innovation to celebrate this remarkable achievement.
Dr Michael Connolly
Michael Connolly, from the School of Law, has recently published the third edition of his book, Discrimination Law (Sweet & Maxwell). The book recently attracted the following accolade:
"This field of law is important; it deserves to be taken seriously; there are a good many texts dedicated to the policy on which the law is based; the text that provides the greatest assistance to practitioners and judges is one that tackles the field comprehensively and with intellectual rigour; Connolly does this."
Mark Irving KC, Barrister - Victorian Bar, Administrator of the CFMEU2.
Latest news
Policing Academic Centre of Excellence (P-ACE) launches at 兔子先生
The 兔子先生 has launched a new Policing Academic Centre of Excellence (P-ACE), as part of a 拢4.5 million national programme funded by the National Police Chiefs鈥 Council (NPCC) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
Academics from the 兔子先生 Policing Academic Centre of Excellence (UoP P-ACE) attended the national launch of the P-ACE programme earlier this month, held in the Great Hall at the University of Birmingham.
兔子先生 opens new research centre to tackle complex health challenges
The 兔子先生 has officially launched its Centre for Integrated Health and Wellbeing (CiH-Well), a research hub dedicated to tackling complex health challenges that affect people from childhood through to older age.
The new centre will focus on tackling health inequalities, ensuring everyone has fair access to good health regardless of their background or where they live. It will also develop practical solutions for conditions that impact millions of people, including chronic illnesses, mental health disorders, and preventable diseases.
Experts launch the International Society of Economic Criminology in 兔子先生
The 兔子先生 has taken a leading role in the global fight against economic crime as the founding institution of the recently launched (ISEC).
As the driving force behind the society鈥檚 creation, the University is at the forefront of raising international awareness and shaping the academic and professional foundations of this emerging field.
REF 2029 news
The Hidden REF
The Hidden REF is a Research England-funded initiative that champions the recognition and evaluation of non-traditional outputs (NTOs) and hidden roles in research. NTOs are categorised following the REF output types, including all types other than (parts of) books, journals, and conference proceedings. This means everything from software and datasets to performances, artefacts, and reports, which are vital contributions to the research landscape but often overlooked in formal assessments. Hidden roles encompass everyone without whom research couldn鈥檛 happen, from technicians and research software engineers to professional service personnel and lived experience contributors.
Hannah Coombs from the Department of Research and Innovation explains more.
Research Culture
Our Enhancing Research Culture (ERC) Programme continues to grow, with exciting opportunities for colleagues to get involved in shaping a positive, inclusive and ambitious research environment at the University. We are pleased to announce the recruitment of leads for two key Research Culture Pillars and invite expressions of interest to support these areas. We are also seeking new members for pillar working groups, offering staff the chance to contribute to university-wide initiatives that strengthen collaboration, equity, researcher development and more. In addition, work is underway to review CEDARS findings and refresh our Research and Innovation Staff Development Programme offer - your input remains invaluable.
Explore our Research Culture updates
Recruitment of Two Research Culture Pillar Leads
The Enhancing Research Culture (ERC) Programme has identified eight 鈥榩illars鈥 to arrange and organise the planning and prioritisation of actions to enhance and progress research culture. These have been identified from national research culture priorities and have been defined in such a way to be able to include a wide range of relevant elements that contribute towards an excellent research culture.
Each Pillar has (or will have) one or two leads (ideally one academic working alongside a member of professional service staff) who is working/will work with a group of key stakeholders to form a pillar working group.
We are pleased to share the details of recruitment process for academic leads for two key pillars and invite expressions of interest for these roles. Full details available via the links below - deadline for applications is Monday 1st December.
Any questions, please contact researchculture@port.ac.uk
Research Culture Pillar Working Group - call for support
The Enhancing Research Culture (ERC) Programme has established eight topics or 鈥榩illars鈥 of research culture that external and internal commentators have identified as underpinning excellent research. Pillar groups have been created to join up local policies and initiatives and ensure there is cross-university support for these important areas.
These Pillars are:
- Research Culture Strategy and Leadership
- Research Integrity, Ethics and Governance
- Open Research
- Environmental Sustainability
- Engagement and Collaboration
- Advancing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Research
- Supporting and Developing our R&I Community
- Research Culture for PGRs
The main responsibilities of each Pillar are to:
- To lead and champion cross-university practice and culture in these areas
- To establish examples of good practice in the Pillar areas, advise on policy and processes needed to achieve excellence in these areas, and to identify data required to evidence them
- Produce an annual institutional pillar action plan outlining and evaluating progress.
Each Pillar has one or two leads (usually an academic working alongside a member of professional service staff) who are working with a group of key stakeholders as part of their pillar working group.
Call for working group members
We are currently seeking interested academic and professional service staff who would like to join a working group for the following two pillars:
5. Engagement and Collaboration - this pillar is focussed on building strong collaborations between our researchers and others. The group will consider how to encourage our researchers to better support and set up internal and external partnerships and collaborations especially in interdisciplinary and applied areas. The group will also help develop and advise on policies that support researchers in the areas of impact, enterprise, Knowledge Exchange, commercialisation, and public engagement.
7. Supporting and Developing our R&I Community - this pillar group will consider the support, training and development opportunities the university provides and should provide for research and researchers. The group will help develop and advise on policies and approaches for researcher training and development, wellbeing, mentoring and coaching, as well as employment conditions, people resources and the working environment.
Commitment required of the working groups will be to contribute to online discussions and attend a formal meeting once a month.
If you have interest in any of the areas above and would like to support our institutional work on developing and enhancing our research culture, please send an email to researchculture@port.ac.uk by Monday 1 December 2025.
Culture, Employment and Development of Academic Researchers Survey (CEDARS)
CEDARS is a national survey managed by , designed to gather insights from research staff, research-enabling staff (e.g. professional staff whose main role is to support research or researchers) and their managers across UK universities. The survey helps institutions understand the lived experiences of researchers in areas such as employment conditions, professional development, wellbeing, and research culture.
Thank you to those of you who responded to the CEDARS survey in May/June of this year. We are really pleased to share that 574 responses were received (50% response rate) and quantitative data has been analysed to produce an initial findings report. We are now in the process of setting up a working group to review this report, alongside the qualitative (free text responses) to agree a set of recommendations and actions that will inform initiatives aimed at improving the research environment at UoP.
If you are interested in being part of a small working group to review the report and produce our initial set of recommendations, please contact researchculture@port.ac.uk by Monday 1 December 2025.
In the meantime, the national benchmarking report for CEDARS 2025, with the aggregate findings from 53 institutions (13,300 responses) is available .
Research and Innovation Staff Development Programme - review of offer
Thank you to those who completed the with your thoughts on the programme and what you would like to see in the future from the training offered through DRI. We are finalising the analysis of responses but some initial findings are:
*The three most important factors you consider when deciding what internal training to access are:
- It clearly meets a development need for my current career stage or role
- It is delivered at a time and place that suits me
- I am confident that the presenter/s has/have the appropriate expertise and experience
*75% of respondents stated that their preferred length of training session is 1-2 hours with 50% saying they would prefer face-to-face training for these sessions, 40% online and 10% pre-recorded/asynchronous.
*The greatest challenge for individuals wanting to access training is workload commitment and time to attend, followed by people not being clear on the value of the session or that it isn鈥檛 offered at a time convenient for them.
We are now moving forward with the development of new training modules, in line with identified priorities and these will be added to Docebo and publicised as and when they are finalised. Watch this space!
As always, we are seeking academic colleagues who might lead specific training sessions, with administrative support from DRI. If there is a specific session you would be pleased to provide, please don鈥檛 hesitate to contact us on researchculture@port.ac.uk. Some of the sessions we are hoping to confirm over the next few months are below. If you can help, or have other suggestions, please let us know.
- Inclusive research and EDI
- Networking and profile building
- Grant writing camp
- Research project management
- Supporting mental health and wellbeing
Collaborations
DESI team wins prestigious 2026 Berkeley Prize
The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) collaboration has been awarded the 2026 Lancelot M. Berkeley 鈥 New York Community Trust Prize for Meritorious Work in Astronomy. This international prize given by the American Astronomical Society recognises research of outstanding importance published within the preceding 12 months. The DESI team will officially receive the award at the Society鈥檚 meeting in January 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Dr Mike Esbester showcases rail safety research in National Railway Museum and local community exhibitions
Dr Mike Esbester, Senior Lecturer in History in the School of Area Studies, Sociology, History, Politics and Literature, has taken his research to the public at local and national levels.
Mike鈥檚 research on the history of health and safety in the rail industry has been featured in a newly-reopened gallery in the National Railway Museum. It鈥檚 the first time health and safety has featured as part of the permanent interpretation, and reflects Mike鈥檚 work with the Museum, including via the collaborative Railway Work, Life & Death project, which he co-leads. The University has been specifically credited in one of the new interpretation panels, because of Mike鈥檚 research.
Closer to home, with funding from the Centre of Excellent for Heritage Innovation, Mike has been working with a local community group, the Havant Local History Group, to research the life stories of railway workers in our area. That research is now reaching the public via a travelling exhibition (currently in Park Building, until 17 December) and posters at train stations 鈥 currently at Havant and Petersfield, thanks to work with South Western Railway and the Hills to Harbour Community Rail Partnership.
Postgraduate researcher news
Over recent months, our postgraduate researchers have been making headlines for all the right reasons, sharing their pioneering work with audiences around the world. Alongside the official media releases from the 兔子先生 PR and Media Team (linked below), their research has been featured widely across regional, national and international platforms, including BBC, The Guardian, Earth, The Daily Telegraph, and the Press Association. Their insights have also reached new audiences through TV and radio outlets such as BBC Radio Solent, ITV Meridian, and Heart FM, a fantastic reflection of the global impact and relevance of their work.
Early results from pelvic surgery study point toward safer operating practices
兔子先生 and Queen Alexandra Hospital team up to further improve patient safety during major pelvic surgery.
Study suggests female crabs are more sensitive to underwater power cables
A new 兔子先生-led study has investigated how electromagnetic fields (EMFs) from submarine power cables affect crabs, raising important questions about the impact of renewable energy infrastructure on marine life.
兔子先生 scientists find way to 鈥渟ee鈥 anxiety in the brain
Psychology PhD student develops brain-scanning method which could help improve how anxiety is understood and diagnosed.
DRI Staff spotlight
Meet the Knowledge Transfer Partnership team
For each edition of Research Connect, we shine a spotlight on a team or member of the Department of Research and Innovation. This month, we鈥檙e featuring the Knowledge Transfer Partnership team. Read on to learn who they are and how they can support you.
Training and development
New opportunities and responsibilities in University Medical and Dental Research
Dr Simon Kolstoe, University Ethics Advisor
It is exciting that the 兔子先生 is now planning for its own medical and dental schools. Along with enhancing our reputation and contributing to the health workforce, this will also bring about exciting new research opportunities across all faculties. At the same time medical, health and social care research brings with it specific responsibilities, because it is one of the few areas of research that is regulated. If any staff or students have any questions or plans to conduct medical, health or social care research, please contact the Department of Research and Innovation as early as possible for support in your planning.
Upcoming Training & Development events
Explore our upcoming events, training sessions, and development opportunities available to all staff over the coming months. If you have any questions, please contact our team at researchculture@port.ac.uk.
Click the month to see what's on
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Ethics, Integrity and Governance training session (ONLINE)
Monday 24 November 2025
1.00pm-3.00pm
This session represents the mandatory training for staff who are applying to research ethics committees.
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Pure Essentials: Unlocking Content Modules to Elevate your Research Profile (IN-PERSON)
Wednesday 26 November
11.00am-11.45am
Whether you are new to Pure or looking to refine your skills and knowledge, this session will help you make the most of the system鈥檚 capabilities.
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Researchers鈥 Network Events: Introductory Networking Session (HYBRID)
Thursday 27 November
11.00am-12.00pm
The Researchers鈥 Network invites all early career and mid-career researchers to meet the newly appointed Convenors at this informal networking event, discuss thoughts on being a researcher at UoP and put forward suggestions for future events.
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Pure Drop-in Session (ONLINE)
Thursday 4 December 2025
10.30am-12.00pm
Do you have a question or issue regarding Pure? If yes, the Pure Team is holding this drop-in session. No need to book, just join the link at some point during the session.
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KTP50 2025: Innovate & Elevate: Marketing Disrupters (ONLINE)
Thursday 11 December 2025
1.00pm-2.00pm
Explore the powerful role of marketing in driving social impact through ethical and sustainable business practices.
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Is it ethical to use Artificial Intelligence in Research? (IN-PERSON)
Tuesday 20 January 2026
10.00am-12.00pm
Artificial Intelligence is the latest 鈥榟ot鈥 technology that seems to be impacting all parts of our lives. But moving beyond research specifically creating or developing AI, is it ethical to also use AI as a research tool?
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Researcher Induction and Information Session (IN-PERSON)
Wednesday 28 January 2026
9.30am-12.30pm
This workshop provides the opportunity to hear an overview of the expertise and support available through the Department of Research & Innovation, and be signposted to useful resources and tools.
Department of Research and Innovation
The Department of Research and Innovation (DRI) is here to support, drive and enable research and innovation across the institution.
We provide support throughout the research and innovation process, while also working behind the scenes to ensure systems and procedures are in place so activity runs smoothly and with integrity.
- Funding and Skills 鈥 guidance on and opportunities for .
- Open and Accessible Research 鈥 support with , open research, and .
- Turning Ideas into Impact 鈥 advice on , , and .
- Research Culture 鈥 promoting integrity, governance and ethics, advancing EDI in research, supporting , strengthening connections with partners, and sharing updates on qualitative research, current news and events.
Our work underpins the University鈥檚 research and innovation priorities and supports colleagues to achieve excellence and impact.
Contact us
Let us know if you have any research culture news or events planned as we鈥檇 love to feature it here. Get in touch with Suzi Edwards or Jo Fairwood at research-connect@port.ac.uk to discuss further.
