Research excellence

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  • Research excellence

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    research excellence 3

    (REF 2014)

  • Acting locally and thinking globally

    At Oxford Brookes University our research is impactful, world-leading and touches people’s lives in so many ways.

    We are making a tangible difference to communities locally, nationally and internationally, tackling some of the world’s biggest problems.

    Researchers are busy influencing counter terrorism policy, aiding animal conservation and developing low carbon solutions to meet national and global energy challenges. We’re a world leader in robotics and artificial intelligence, we’ve developed resources to help combat human trafficking in the hospitality industry and we have a number of projects focussed on improving care for cancer patients.

    But we’re not stopping there.

  • International collaboration

    We are growing our research strengths and gearing up for the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2020 and beyond. Our newly launched strategy for research and knowledge exchange sets out the University’s ambitions over the next five years.

    The University already benefits from many international research partnerships; through our Centre for Development and Emergency Practice (CENDEP) for example, we have worked with numerous partners including Save the Children and Christian Aid to address disaster recovery and chronic poverty both in the UK and across the world.

    We want to develop more partnerships and increase our global collaboration.

    international collaboration

  • Our research staff and students

    The dedication and expertise of our research community is key to the University’s reputation and we are working to further support and develop both our staff and students.

    • Oxford Brookes holds the HR Excellence in Research Award from the European Commission, which recognises our commitment to supporting research-active staff
    • We have committed a Central Research Fund to support individuals and research groups including Collaborative Travel Awards, Bridging Funds, Research Fellowships and PhD scholarships
    • Postgraduate and research students enjoy a vibrant and supportive environment, and benefit from a strong programme of research training.
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  • Knowledge exchange

    Through Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs), we have produced significant benefits for our partner businesses. In recent years, over half of the University’s KTPs have been awarded the top grade – ‘outstanding’ – in independent reviews and in 2014 we won the award for the best KTP in the UK.

    Our latest projects are looking at solving problems of overheating in care homes and the design of buildings for flood resilience.

    Funding

    Major funding comes from research councils, charitable trusts, industry and government. In recent years we have been successful in winning competitive funding from UK government departments and from the European Commission.

    In 2017 a new project, led by Oxford Brookes and bringing together an international team of architects, engineers, digital scientists and urban planners, received a grant of £1.5 million from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), and India’s Department of Science and Technology (DST), to help improve the energy efficiency of millions of homes in India.

    Find out more about research at Oxford Brookes »