Professor awarded prestigious research fellowship to explore pressing societal issues

Bahman Rostami-Tabar, Professor of Data-Driven Decision Science at Cardiff Business School, has been awarded a Research Fellowship by the Montpellier Advanced Knowledge Institute on Transitions (MAKIT) at the University of Montpellier.

The fellowship, funded by MAKIT, brings together internationally renowned researchers spanning diverse disciplinary backgrounds in life and engineering sciences, social sciences, and the humanities. Together, they aim to innovate and creatively approach the research theme: Disruptive science to meet global challenges.

The rigorous selection process for the fellowship welcomes global applicants, with the current cohort featuring researchers from Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Argentina, Mexico, and Professor Rostami-Tabar from the UK.

With generous support from MAKIT and Cardiff Business School, Professor Rostami-Tabar is spending six months (January – June 2024) in Montpellier to focus on his research fellowship.

The cohort members collaborate on a wide range of topics, including:

• how sustainability science contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• the role of uncertainty in informing policy and decisions
• the nexus of energy-food-water
• interdisciplinary collaboration
• strategies for discussing controversies

The experience also includes attending various networking events, such as the Montpellier Process. This event brings international expert groups together to discuss ways of working collectively to solve the major challenges facing the planet and humanity, and to anticipate crises, at a time when the United Nations has announced a decade of science.

Professor Rostami-Tabar believes that this experience will bring back valuable lessons that can be shared at Cardiff Business School, including approaches to handling controversies and navigating the interface between science, policy, and society.