UCL staff and students join community groups for Research Partnerships event

On 7th September, the Engineering Exchange hosted an event at BASE King's Cross called 'Community Research Partnerships: Past, present, future'.

Nearly 100 professionals, members of local community groups and staff and students from UCL and other universities registered to attend. The event comprised a series of talks, a keynote lecture, a panel and a workshop aimed at developing new research projects in collaboration between UCL and local community groups.

The talks and project workshop centred on three themes, which are central to the work of the Engineering Exchange: green infrastructure; waste and the circular economy; and air quality. 

The keynote lecture was delivered by Agamemnon Otero, Co-CEO of Repowering London, and focused on his experience developing successful community energy projects in London.

The panel, chaired by Emeritus Professor Andrew Brown of the UCL Institute of Education, included Richard Lee from Just Space, Pat Turnbull from the London Tenants' Federation, Elena Besussi of UCL's Bartlett School of Planning and Professor Sarah Bell, Director of the Engineering Exchange.

Professor Bell said:

'The panel highlighted the value of community-university partnerships to London, and the need to raise the profile of this way of working. These and other issues will be discussed as part of an ongoing series of events over the coming year, with Just Space, other universities and community groups.'