Vice-Chancellor visits the Water Research Institute
28 January 2020
Prof Colin Riordan visited the Water Research Institute last month to find out more about the work we are doing, and meet our early-career group.
The visit started with a chat with representatives from the early-career group about current and past initiatives. The group explained how their events, from movie nights to seminar series, bring together PhD students and postdoctoral researchers working on water-related topics. They highlighted how support from the Research Institute, through travel bursaries for conferences or placement opportunities, was key to their career development. The group also highlighted how they were proud to be successfully leading the Refill Cardiff campaign - which the Vice-Chancellor supports - in line with the University's Environment Strategy.
Training this next generation of water researchers is at the core of the Water Research Institute’s endeavours. Sarah Brasher, Manager of the NERC GW4 FRESH Centre for Doctoral Training, and the Vice-Chancellor discussed the importance of training researchers that had both in-depth disciplinary understanding and the breadth of knowledge necessary to tackle complex water challenges. Dr Michael Singer, Deputy Director of the Research Institute, highlighted how the new interdisciplinary MSc Water in a Changing World aligns to this principle, bringing the perspectives of different schools together across the natural, engineering and social sciences.
Further highlighting how interdisciplinary working is key to tackling water challenges, Prof Isabelle Durance (Research Institute Director) and Dr Chris Hubbard (Research and Impact Officer) introduced our new research themes. Following on from this, Dr Adrian Healy then discussed with the Vice-Chancellor the research he will be undertaking as Cardiff University’s first UKRI Future Leaders Fellow. Looking at the global challenge of how cities cope with water crisis, Dr Healy will be working with a range of organisations including the University of Namibia, one of Cardiff University’s key international partners.
Working collaboratively with academic colleagues beyond Cardiff, such as the University of Namibia, is something we firmly believe in. More locally, the Research Institute is a member of the GW4 Water Security Alliance, managed by Andy Schofield. Together with Dr Rupert Perkins, Andy and the Vice-Chancellor talked about how this regional partnership of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter universities expands the reach and significance of Cardiff water research.
To be fully impactful, academic research needs to involve partners from industry, government and NGOs. Using the example of the EU WISDOM Project, Dr David Crole, our Partnerships Manager, and Dr Tom Beach spoke with the Vice-Chancellor about how we are working with Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water and others to address real world challenges.
The visit ended up with an open discussion with members of our Management Board and Heads of School Prof Ian Hall (Earth and Environmental Sciences) and Prof Jim Murray (Biosciences) about the strategic importance of the University Research Institutes, and how they complement the traditional disciplinary strengths of the university.
Contact us to find out more about how we work or any of the topics mentioned in this article.
