Global - The Bristol Global Engagement Network

The University of Bristol is an international powerhouse of learning, discovery and enterprise. Its vision is of a university whose excellence is acknowledged locally, nationally and globally. International collaboration is key to realising our institutional mission, as outlined in our "Vision and Strategy 2009-2016"; to pursue and share knowledge and understanding, both for their own sake and to help individuals and society fulfil their potential. Our strategy for international research collaborations is founded upon the following guiding principles:

1) Excellence: developing the range of expert perspectives available;
2) Extent: increasing the reach and impact of the research undertaken;
3) Efficiency: the spreading of cost and the building of capacity for the collaborative partners;
4) Effectiveness: the ability to move more quickly and respond to new challenges.

The four-pronged Bristol Global Engagement Network outlined in this proposal will transform the way in which our scientists engage with global partners and will form the foundations upon which to capitalise on the practical benefits that accrue from vigorous international links: the tackling of global problems requiring global solutions; attracting world-leading international scientists and engineers to work in the UK; the benchmarking and raising of national UK standards that such collaborations implicitly define; adding value to the UK tax payer and funding bodies through the increased efficiency of pooling resources and the recruitment of the best young graduate students to become the next generation of leaders.
The proposed activity will more deeply embed a sustainable culture of global engagement into the University by encouraging our scientists and engineers to initiate and build upon international collaborations throughout all stages of their academic career. This will resonate particularly strongly with our junior researchers, including EPSRC-funded PhD students and research assistants, who will continue to engage with internationally excellent research groups throughout their time in research.

The University of Bristol recognises the importance of partnering with internationally leading research institutions in order to produce high impact research outcomes of global significance.

Who might benefit from the activities outlined under the Bristol Global Engagement Network?

Collaboration by its very nature impacts on the parties involved; existing knowledge and the unique combination of specific expertise, skills, technologies and facilities greatly increases the potential for the generation of new knowledge and its outcomes. Each of the collaborations supported as part of the four-pronged Bristol Global Engagement Network will have an individual impact, which when taken as a whole will see beneficiaries beyond the academic community; in the public sector, private sector and in the wider public.

How might they benefit?

Strengthening partnerships with internationally leading research groups will open up new environments for impact and routes to market for commercially exploitable research outcomes. By embedding a sustainable culture of international engagement in research within our institution we will help to ensure that the UK remains at the forefront of excellence in science and engineering. This will safeguard the national economy by encouraging international firms to invest in UK science through collaborative research programmes and the uptake of translational research outcomes. Strengthening research links with Japan in particular, where both an entrepreneurial culture and close interactions with the industrial sector are deeply embedded in the view of research, will have a profound influence on our understanding of how to maximise potential research impact, and will also provide numerous opportunities to engage and interact directly with a new pool of potential end users of research, including large multinational companies such as Rolls Royce, Canon and Nintendo. These impacts will resonate especially strongly with our young researchers, including EPSRC-funded PhD students and research assistants, who will continue to strive to engage with internationally excellent research groups throughout their time in research, thereby ensuring that the impacts of such global collaborations will continue to benefit the UK economy way beyond the scope of these activities. Coupled to these benefits to the UK and Global economies are the many impacts to society that will be brought about through the international collaborations outlined here. To highlight one of many examples; ideas generated through the collaboration between Bristol and Kyoto in the field of advanced testing methods for structures and infrastructure will present a very clear possibility to save lives, to prevent damage to the built environment and thereby to reduce the financial and societal costs following natural or man-made disasters.