UCL IRDR-CNDS Workshop Report, 26th-27th October, Uppsala University

A joint workshop between UCL IRDR and CNDS (Center for Natural Disaster Science) was held at Uppsala University on 26-27 October; the latest activity in a long lasting collaboration.

CNDS is one of the leading institutions on disaster studies in Sweden, consisting of Uppsala University, Swedish Defence College and Karlstad University. The Centre benefits from the support of several Swedish authorities, including the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB).

The collaboration between our two institutes was initiated by PhD students at IRDR and CNDS in 2014 and has produced, since then, three workshops, one in London and two in Uppsala. The first two workshops were devoted to gaining a better knowledge of shared research interests and expertise and to browsing opportunities for collaboration.

This latest workshop was an endeavour to actualise these opportunities. During the workshop, PhD students and senior academics between our two institutes discussed prospects for joint publications in Special issues and for a book that brings together our complementary expertise Senior representatives from both partner institutes, Dr Rosanna Smith (Deputy Director, UCL IRDR) and Prof. Sven Halldin (Emeritus Professor, CNDS), presented an overview of the evolution of the two institutes and of their research priorities in the near future. The workshop concluded with the drafting of a Memorandum of Understanding between UCL IRDR and CNDS that sets out the foundations of our collaboration and paves the way for joint research projects.

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