4 April 2017
Wednesday 28 March I headed off to Birmingham University to attend a meeting of the ’s Director of Research Committee, of which I am a member.
The event started at 3pm so thankfully I did not have to get a plane at the crack of dawn. At the meeting we were reminded that we were members in our own right we were not representing our institutions. This is a very useful Committee to attend and there were some really important issues to discuss. Most of the discussion was about the potential contributions that Business Schools could make to the UK’s recently announced Industrial Strategy. Also discussed was CABS’s submission to the , which was assembled after a request to all members of CABS to send in their views to the consultation questions. We also talked about potential sources of external research funding in the light of Brexit.
The next day I attended the . There were lots of fascinating presentations that address many of the really crucial issues facing UK business schools today. Jonas Nystrom, Head of Science and Innovation at HM Treasury discussed research and innovation funding after Brexit and the opportunities presented by the Industrial Strategy. A fascinating panel discussion about interdisciplinary collaboration brought together five speakers from very different backgrounds, from pharmaceutical research to the to and . Paul Nightingale from gave some very perceptive observations on how productivity in the UK could be improved through innovation. Then it was off to breakout sessions where I attended an interesting discussion about cross border research collaboration which centred on how UK academics will work with colleagues in Europe after Brexit and who, if anyone, will fund such work. The general view was that existing collaborations will probably continue but funding is another matter. A second set of breakout sessions followed lunch where a lively discussion took place on how to make interdisciplinary research work. A panel discussion on REF2021 finished off the conference. All eyes were on David Sweeney from who gave an excellent presentation on the possible format of the REF with helpful observations from of Cardiff, Gerard Hodgkinson from Manchester and from Royal Holloway.
This was a great conference full of very useful incites and rich in opportunities to network. I look forward the same event in 2018!