UCL Grand Challenges

Applications open for our Climate Crisis Pump-Priming call 2024/25! Funding of up to £75,000 is now available for impactful inter-disciplinary work that can 'pump-prime' the development of a larger, externally funded project. Deadline: 17 Jan 2025 https://lnkd.in/ei6MTuRR

Congratulations to the UCL researchers who have been shortlisted for the Frontiers Planet Prize for the 2023 report of The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change.   The Frontiers Planet Prize celebrates breakthroughs in sustainability science, rewarding solutions that show measurable potential to help humanity remain within the boundaries of the Earth’s ecosystem.    Find out more about the Lancet Countdown for Climate and Health ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/ejKYcFNw and UCL’s Grand Challenge of #ClimateCrisis ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/eeFXan_9

UCL Grand Challenges is committed to funding interdisciplinary research that supports innovation, education and community building. Explore the evolved programme, including the theme of Data-Empowered Societies co-led by IOE's Allison Littlejohn.

Upcoming event: Data-Empowered Societies Kick-off Event 23 January 2025, 12:00 pm–4:00 pm Under the academic leadership of Professors Allison Littlejohn and James Hetherington, we've been hard at work shaping this exciting new theme and planning upcoming activity. Join us and connect with UCL colleagues & hear from the team behind this Grand Challenge theme. Ideal event for anyone at UCL who wants to leverage data for positive societal impact Help us shape our plans for empowering society with data. Book your place: https://lnkd.in/gPteQ8ji Want to get Involved in the event? There’s also an exciting opportunity to deliver a 3-minute talk on your interests or projects related to this theme. If you're interested, please email Max Gillingham ([email protected]) with a maximum 150-word summary of what you would like to talk about by Monday 13 January. Note that spaces are limited, so we’ll select a diverse range of presentations to reflect the breadth of interests within our community. James Paskins Sam Balch Daisy Harvey Emily Jennings Zulekha Mayet

Structurally Unsound: Five Years of Impact. In 2019, UCL Grand Challenges and UCL Public Policy partnered with the Resolution Foundation to take an in-depth look at the role of structural inequalities in society, and how policy interventions can attempt to address them. "So many of us work in particular areas [...] and you get very drawn into that world. The Grand Challenge idea elevates you and takes you away from that, gives you a helicopter sense, and brings you together with other people who wouldn't necessarily consider themselves to be part of the solution to that problem". Discover more about this project's impacts in this short video featuring Prof Nick Gallent, Dr Olivia Stevenson and Matthew Whittaker: https://bit.ly/3Bm1rol This project is an ongoing collaboration between UCL Grand Challenges and UCL Public Policy. Visit our website to learn how you can collaborate with us: https://bit.ly/4gA4qZa Siobhan Morris Dr Olivia Stevenson Matt Whittaker Nick Gallent Sinéad M. UCL Grand Challenges Resolution Foundation UCL Public Policy #StructurallyUnsound #Inequalities

December newsletter alert! Check out our final newsletter of the year. Hear about the latest news, funding calls and upcoming events in our monthly bulletin: https://lnkd.in/eeutAU48 Make sure you sign up and stay up to date: https://lnkd.in/epY7Dpwr Happy Holidays!

The past year has been an exciting period of innovation and growth for UCL Grand Challenges, with the programme now at the heart of UCL’s 2022-2027 Strategic Plan. Launched in September 2023, the evolved programme introduces five new themes: Mental Health & Wellbeing, Climate Crisis, Data-Empowered Societies, Inequalities, and Intercultural Communication. These themes aim to maximise UCL's impact on the most pressing issues facing society today to help make real-world impacts Discover more about the evolved programme, its impact, and how you can get involved: https://bit.ly/4gBKbdx #Sustainability #Wellbeing #Impact #Data

We're having a great time collaborating with students across UCL and we can't wait to see our work on Build a Lab and education continue in 2025. Denise Zheng (UCL Arts and Sciences) is a UCL Grand Challenges Student Consultant. In a new blog piece, she shares her experience: A Student’s Interdisciplinary Journey: Bridging Disciplines to Facilitate Impactful Change. Read now on our Disruptive Voices blog page and make sure you're following us for more stories. https://lnkd.in/egW6ejgt Sam Balch Emily Jennings Daisy Harvey Zulekha Mayet

📰 a must-read in Wonkhe today: University research can ensure that AI benefits society by Itegbeyogene Ezekiel, Ph.D. which explores the evolving role universities and research organisations can play in the rapidly expanding AI landscape. The piece forms part of a larger body of work on 'Who Owns AI?' with a longer deep-dive report available now through UCL Public Policy https://lnkd.in/ekr7aVj7 UCL Public Policy UCL Science and Technology Studies (STS) Jack Stilgoe UCL Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEaPP) Sinéad M. Dr Olivia Stevenson

Exciting News! 🎧 Professor Essi Viding and Professor Argyris Stringaris, PVPs at the UCL Grand Challenge of Mental Health & Wellbeing, are featured in the latest episode of Unlocking the SDGs - A Blueprint for the Future podcast (Series 3, Episode 2). Join hosts Professor Priti Parikh FICE and Professor Monica Lakhanpaul as they explore the critical topics of #MentalHealth and #Wellbeing, focusing on their impact on education and research. Don't miss this insightful conversation! Listen here: https://lnkd.in/eKxK2g6N