Research Engagement & Impact Award

We’re delighted to announce the winners of this year’s Research Engagement and Impact Awards. The winners were presented with their awards at the Research Excellence 2022 event which took place in-person on Monday 13 June, along with the recipients of this year’s ECR Research Output Prizes.

Our Research Engagement and Impact Awards recognise and reward individuals and teams who undertake outstanding engagement and impact activities. They are open to all research and professional staff members. This year we received 28 entries from across a wide spectrum of our research and from colleagues at different stages of their careers. It was inspiring to see that almost all of them were collaborative projects, often involving cross-disciplinary teams and external partners.

Eleven outstanding projects were shortlisted, all addressing a significant challenge and engaging individuals, organisations or communities to bring about positive change. From these, four winners were chosen, one of which went to an Early Career Researcher.

The winners are:

Shweta Ghosh (ECR award) - We Make Film: filmmaking, creativity and disability in urban India

An 80-minute feature documentary produced by Reading’s Dr Shweta Ghosh as part of her practice-led research project is being used to highlight the urgent need for more inclusive and accessible filmmaking practices in India and beyond.

The judges said: “This comes across as an excellent engagement and impact project, all the more notable as it is led by an early career researcher. With a clear thread between the research, the activity and the outputs, there is clearly more impact to come.”

Maria Shahgedanova - Reducing risk of glacial floods in Central Asia

By repurposing a technical geo-surveying technique as a practical management tool, a team of Reading researchers are helping to mitigate the potentially catastrophic effects of climate change in Central Asia.

The judges said: “A very good strategically targeted engagement approach, including the co-production of knowledge, that clearly demonstrates the benefits to local partners and delivers critical impact in reducing the hazard potential of glacier floods.”

Alanna Skuse, Tina O’Connell - Destigmatising self-injury through art

Through a series of participant-led art workshops, Reading researchers are raising important questions about how we understand and talk about self-injury.

The judges said: “A very creative project with real strengths in cross-disciplinary working that combines artistic practice and historical context to address an important issue in innovative ways.”

Hong Yang, Marta O’Brien - Tackling air pollution through citizen science

Researchers at Reading are helping communities to breathe healthier air by equipping schools and families with tools and skills to identify and tackle air pollution.

The judges said: “A well designed and executed local project that takes a creative and innovative approach to engaging children and parents, including those from disadvantaged communities, and has generated significant impact and engagement with solid plans to extend its reach.”

Professor Parveen Yaqoob, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation said: “We congratulate every one of the researchers who applied for the awards this year and hope that the projects inspire you to find out more about our research and the ways we work together to ensure research brings benefits to all.”

You can find out more about the winning and shortlisted projects by downloading the Awards booklet, visiting the research webpages and following us on Twitter @UniRdg_Research.