53 ways the University is tackling global challenges
Leeds has been ranked in the top three UK universities for global funding success, according to new data from Research Fortnight.
Developing the skills of radio astronomers in sub-Saharan Africa is one of the University's global funding research projects
Awards from the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) and the Newton Fund show Leeds securing more than £36 million between 2014 and 2018.
The funding supports research to improve the quality of life for people in developing countries, through building communities, developing skills and tackling diseases.
Research Fortnight analysed 1,140 GCRF and Newton Fund grants awarded by the UK’s research councils to compile the figures.
By 2021, more than £2 billion of the government’s overseas aid budget will have been channelled into research to benefit lower and middle-income countries through the two flagship funding schemes.
With research strengths across a range of disciplines, Leeds is able to draw on novel combinations of expertise for the funding schemes, and joins the University of Oxford and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the top three.
Professor Lisa Roberts, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research and Innovation at Leeds, said: “Our researchers have spent many years building relationships with NGOs, governments and civil organisations in countries like Bangladesh, Nepal and in sub-Saharan Africa.
“We have learnt what these countries need to do to thrive, and have harnessed our exceptional breadth and commitment to working across traditional boundaries, to support them with solutions to some of the greatest global challenges facing humankind today.”
Mobile solutions to the Mexican kidnapping epidemic are being explored through another of the University's global funding research projects
Awards from the GCRF and the Newton Fund include 53 different projects at Leeds, demonstrating the breadth of the University’s research expertise.
Professor Hai-Sui Yu, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: International, said: “Leeds is a truly global university, and we have been successful in collaborating with governments, organisations and research bodies in some of the most challenging parts of the world.
“We create the environment for our researchers at all levels to develop fundamental insights, which drive practical solutions to help countries thrive.
“The figures from Research Fortnight are a welcome independent judgement on the successful approach we have developed, and we continue to welcome new collaborations to tackle global challenges.”
Read some of the case studies of University projects or learn more about the University’s global presence and research and innovation excellence.
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