The University of Birmingham has committed support to a new independent news and commentary website produced by academics and journalists, which launches in the UK today.

Entitled The Conversation, the website sources news, commentary and the latest research from the academic community. Its team of editors will work with academics and the University press office to unlock expertise, apply it to topical issues, and make it available to the public. 

As a complementary media outlet, The Conversation offers an excellent platform for academics to showcase their research in a safe publishing environment, where articles are only published with the academic’s approval. It will also give students access to extensive additional academic resources produced by their own lecturers and the wider research community.

In addition to Birmingham, twelve UK universities have committed their support as founding partners to the six month UK pilot phase of The Conversation, along with The Wellcome Trust, The Nuffield Foundation, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) and the Scottish Funding Council.

The UK version is a partnership with the original Melbourne-based website, which in less than two years has become Australia’s largest independent news, commentary and analysis website. Further pilots are planned in the USA and India.

The founding university partners of The Conversation UK are: University of Aberdeen, University of Birmingham, University of Bristol, Cardiff University, City University London, Glasgow Caledonian University, University of Liverpool, The Open University, University of Salford, University of Sheffield, University of Surrey, University College London (UCL) and University of Warwick.

For further information, please contact: pressoffice@contacts.bham.ac.uk / +44 (0) 121 414 8254