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UCL Grand Challenges

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The Grand Challenges is UCL's flagship cross-disciplinary initiative. Find out more about the programme to date, and our plans for the future.

The UCL Grand Challenges - our progress and plans


The UCL Grand Challenges were established in 2008 as a groundbreaking grassroots initiative to stimulate and support cross-disciplinary research. Over the last 15 years, the initiative has grown from a fledgling initiative to a flagship programme, enabling and encouraging colleagues across UCL to come together to develop holistic solutions to complex global problems. We're proud of what we've achieved so far, and excited for the next phase of the Grand Challenges' development. 

As part of UCL's Strategic Plan 2022-27, five new areas of inquiry have been identified as urgent global challenges, and themes around which our academic expertise can make a valuable contribution. We are now in the process of evolving the Grand Challenges, and consulting on how we can come together as a university to integrate the Grand Challenges' cross-disciplinary approach across the university. Building on the success of fostering research collaborations, the next phase will see the Grand Challenges deepen its involvement in our teaching and become central to UCL's vision of the university as central to tackling issues of global concern.

Find out more about the new Grand Challenges

Our approach

UCL Grand Challenges is based on the premise that solutions to the greatest challenges rarely come from one field alone. Therefore, a large part of our work involves bringing researchers from diverse disciplines together with colleagues who possess knowledge outside their areas of expertise to test new ideas, build partnerships, and collaborate.

We also encourage collaboration with external organisations - both academic and non-academic, including charities, industry, third sector organisations and local authorities - to exchange knowledge and achieve impacts across all sectors of society. 

Alongside running our own Grand Challenge-led initiatives, we award seed corn grants to UCL researchers and doctoral students, fund strategic projects, organise and support events and academic roundtables, establish and build partnerships, and provide a platform for innovative, ‘disruptive’ thinking via our podcasts and blog – all achieved through working closely with colleagues across the university and beyond. 

Our impacts

Through the cross-disciplinary research that Grand Challenges facilitates, new approaches can emerge; in this way, our small interventions have a significant impact. 

> Learn more about our impact and outputs  
> Learn more about our funded projects
> Learn more about our partnerships

Across UCL

We work in close partnership with academics drawn from right across UCL as well as professional services staff, including: 

Connecting with those involved in UCL Research Domains   Collaborating with UCL Public Policy  Advising on the connected curriculum and working in partnership with UCL Academy  Engaging with the public and communities through UCL Culture  Reaching UCL's partners across the world through UCL Global Engagement  Engaging with industry and the third sector through  UCL Innovation and Enterprise  Publishing work in an Open Access format, through UCL Press 

Who we work with

As well as the work of each Grand Challenge being advised by a Working Group, we also work closely with the Grand Challenges Advisory Group - with a senior representative from each faculty – and the Grand Challenges Executive Board to build our picture of UCL’s research strengths, advise on strategic priorities, augment our activities and identify new opportunities. 

> Learn more about our Working Groups, Advisory Group and Executive Board