Research

Our Birmingham 2030 research goals are to:

Amplify the scale, visibility, and impact of our research.
Lead interdisciplinary solutions to global challenges.
Empower a culture of research excellence, innovation and inclusion.

To deliver these goals, our key priorities are:

Increasing the volume and diversity of our research funding

Increasing the volume and diversity of our research funding to enable more ambitious and impactful research. We will influence and respond strategically to opportunities from funders, government, industry, the NHS, and the third sector allowing us to build world-class research infrastructure, attract global talent, and nurture high quality, diverse research teams with outstanding academic leadership. We will attract the very best early-career researchers by securing external doctoral training awards, expanding our postgraduate studentships and growing our community of externally funded early career fellows.

Developing academic leadership and innovation

By supporting leadership development, mentoring, and innovation pathways, we will enable staff to lead interdisciplinary research that addresses global challenges. Our Doctoral School plays a vital role in foundational academic training, providing our postgraduate researchers with exceptional supervision, training, and career support.

Building a supportive and high-performing research culture

Building a supportive and high-performing research culture to enable our staff to deliver excellent research outcomes. We are committed to cultivating a creative, ambitious and inclusive culture that supports professional growth while upholding high standards of excellence, accountability, and ambition. We will support our researchers to deliver more, higher quality research outcomes, with an increased emphasis on knowledge sharing, mentoring, wellbeing and research integrity, and environmentally sustainable practice.

Embedding impact across the research lifecycle

We see impact as a driver as well as an outcome of research. We will support researchers to engage with external stakeholders from research ideation through to funding proposal, delivery and beyond; thus enhancing grant capture and contributing to meaningful change.

Realising impact through our interdisciplinary capabilities

We will reduce barriers to internal and external collaboration, sharing and extending research methodologies such as data science and open research across disciplines. We will convene research teams that combine approaches from across the University to tackle contemporary challenges.

Driving a meaningful and mutually enriching relationship between research and education

Driving a meaningful and mutually enriching relationship between research and education for the benefit of our staff and students. Our world-leading research will continue to shape our student experience - increasing the availability of student research projects with clear links to the University’s research themes, engaging students in research impact and public engagement activities, and aligning degree and Continuing Professional Development programmes with our research expertise. At the same time, educational innovation will inform and inspire new research directions, creating a virtuous cycle of discovery and learning.

Our researchers drive global thought leadership, and their work helps shape our future by advancing knowledge, shaping policy change, and inspiring the next generation of scholars, policymakers, and industry leaders. Underpinned by world-leading excellence in key academic areas, our breadth of research aims to provide solutions to global challenges, through five interdisciplinary lenses: Thriving Planet, Life-Changing Technologies, Connecting Cultures, Global Health, and Fairer World.

We will build on our global reputation for excellence by expanding the scale, visibility, and impact of our research. This includes deepening our research networks and strengthening collaborations with key academic, industrial and governmental partners across the globe.

We will expect all our researchers to strive for excellence and will foster an inclusive environment where our colleagues are able to thrive, supported by world-class facilities, professional services, and technical teams. Through strategic investment in people and infrastructure, we are creating the conditions for our research community to succeed.

As the next generation of academic leaders and innovators, our research students are central to our research culture. We will increase the number of international research students to enhance the strengths and power of the University’s research base whilst growing our international reputation.