£29k awarded to 16 new projects through the UCL Doctoral School
29 June 2017
Over £29,000 has been awarded to 16 projects in the first-ever Grand Challenges small grants scheme run through the UCL Doctoral School fund.
The scheme offered awards of up to £2,000 for pairs of doctoral students from different faculties for research-informed, societally relevant, cross-disciplinary activities to be undertaken in academic year 2017-18. The call welcomed ideas for diverse types of joint activity including workshops, conferences, surveys, intervention research at community level, public engagement or interaction events addressing research challenges.
Twenty-four applications were received, of which 16 were successful. The small projects involve researchers from 10 of the 11 UCL faculties. Their work will look at topics as varied as earthquake preparedness, the mental health of Syrian refugees and nature inspired engineering. We'll keep you updated with what our Doctoral School small grant projects get up to throughout 2017/18.
This scheme will run again next year, with another opportunity for postgraduate researchers to apply for Grand Challenges support for cross-disciplinary projects.
Here's the full list of projects awarded funding by the Grand Challenges and the UCL Doctoral School:
Grand Challenge of Human Wellbeing
Ana Margarita Garfias Royo (Engineering Sciences) Kusha Anand (Institute of Education) | Identifying vulnerabilities in school-based infrastructure that facilitate violence against girls/female students in schools in New Delhi, India. |
Stijn van Ewijk (Bartlett) Judith Ament (Life Sciences) | Bridging the gap: environment and well-being across disciplines |
Stefano Rossoni (Arts and Humanities) Joanna Blodgett (Population Health Sciences) | Men's reading forum: discussing masculinity and ageing |
Kate Maresh (Population Health Sciences) Rachel Trimmer (Brain Sciences) | Evaluating assessment tools for anxiety in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy |
Jean Stafford (Brain Sciences) Aleksandra Blokland (Population Health Sciences) | Interdisciplinary approach to research on social relationships and health across the lifespan |
Grand Challenge of Global Health
Aseel Hamid (Brain Sciences) Miriam Orcutt (Population Health Sciences) | Meeting the mental health needs of Syrian refugees with trauma-related distress |
Grand Challenge of Sustainable Cities
Chen Huang (Engineering Sciences) Omar Velazquez (Mathematical and Physical Sciences) | Earthquake Preparedness First Aid Kit- A Video Series |
Debananda Misra (Institute of Education) Rodrigo Caimanque Leverone (Bartlett) | In Otto Koeniger's footsteps - workshops to encourage engagement between HEIs and cities for Government of India's Smart Cities Mission Initiative |
Grand Challenge of Cultural Understanding
Khetam Al Sharou (Arts and Humanities) Ceri Butler (Population Health Sciences) | Beyond Medical Practice: Cultural and Linguistic Training of Refugee Doctors for Integration and Employment in the UK |
Victoria Baltag (Arts and Humanities) Zora Kostadinova (Social and Historical Sciences) | The usage of moving image as a scientific tool in technology versus an entertainment tool in art - International Interdisciplinary Conference |
Ka Yui Kum (Life Sciences) Elizabeth Elliot (Social and Historical Sciences) | Traditional Herbal Knowledge in the 21st century: Research Challenges and Future Prospects |
Grand Challenge of Transformative Technology
Matthew Chin (Medical Sciences) Joseph Harvey (Engineering Sciences) | Transforming Immunotherapy with Nature-Inspired Engineering |
Nicholas Laessing (Arts and Humanities) Thomas Heenan (Engineering Sciences) | An art/science collaboration in renewable hydrogen energy for public events |
Joshua Lockhart (Engineering Sciences) Carlo Sparaciari (Mathematical and Physical Sciences) | Workshop on Quantum Computing and Thermodynamics |
Stefan Siwiak-Jaszek (Mathematical and Physical Sciences) Thomas Heenan (Engineering Sciences) | Quantum Secrets of Photosynthesis |
Grand Challenge of Justice and Equality
Francesca Peruzzo (Institute of Education) Raffaella Cecilia (Arts and Humanities) | First UCL interdisciplinary conference on disability: breaking barriers towards a just and equal world |