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Research uptake and impact - a snapshot As university research comes under ever-increasing scrutiny, there is growing recognition that the effective management and administration of this research can increase its uptake and impact still further. But what challenges are universities facing in this field? What could be improved to ensure university research can be taken up, and have the greatest impact? In line with the growing ...

'Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.' These words, first spoken by Nelson Mandela, were echoed this week when the ACU's Patron, HRH The Duchess of Sussex, joined students and academics in South Africa to discuss how universities can build fairer and safer societies for all. The roundtable discussion, hosted by the University of Johannesburg and chaired by ACU Secretary General Dr Joanna ...

For many years now, I’ve had that horrible feeling, that when I spoke to someone at work or went for a job interview that something was just off with the other person I was engaging with. Or they would make a comment such as, “where are you from? No, I mean where are you are actually from!” The difficulty is that you cannot put your finger on it, so you end up ignoring it and put it into the back of your mind. ...

In 2018, I had the pleasure of networking with HR professionals from universities across the Commonwealth. On both occasions, the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) had a part to play. The first was the ACU - HR Global Innovations Study Tour in the UK in May 2018. This tour began at the ACU office in London, then moved to various universities across the country and included attending the Universities Human Resources (UHR ...

Cameroon's west maritime district is a pearl in the crown of its status as 'Africa in miniature'. The black sandy beaches along its coastline are lined with numerous attractions that are popular among both locals and international tourists, such as areas like the Limbe down beach – a busy fish landing site for the thousands employed in the fishing industry who work and live there. The activities of fishers and other ...

The international research impact agenda is influenced by a number of diverse stakeholders, from charities and policy makers to governments and the United Nations. So how can we, as research managers, put structures in place to support the strategic development of impact towards this agenda? Research impact is not a new concept, particularly in the UK where, from as early as the 1980s, universities have been held to account by ...

The Edward Boyle Medical Elective Bursaries, managed by the ACU, help medical students in the UK to obtain practical experience in a low or middle income country of the Commonwealth and to learn more about global health concerns. Here, Alexander Mount from the University of Warwick reflects on his experience at a hospital in Jinja, southern Uganda. When I left for Uganda, I had little idea of how much I would learn. But the answer ...

The ‘Community University Partnership Programme’ (CUPP), created by the University of Brighton, began in 2003. The aim of the project is to develop mutually beneficial partnerships between the university and its local communities, with a focus on working with more disadvantaged communities. Over the last 15 years CUPP has worked with over 200 academics, 5000 students and 750 community partners, and has become central to ...

The transformative power of higher education and the opportunities it generates, has never required an explanation for me personally, nor the countless number of forced migrants (refugees, asylum seekers – anyone who has been forcibly displaced) I have had the privilege to work with. What does require explanation is why these opportunities, in spite of academic ability and ambition, are so challenging to access if your life ...

The Millennium Development Goals (elapsed in 2015) have come and gone and since been replaced with an expanded and extended set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), numbering 17 in total. Of these 17 goals, seven focus on living within our means. Indeed goals 11-17 all emphasise this – from the need for Sustainable Cities and Communities (Goal 11), to Responsible consumption and production (Goal 12), Life Below Water (Goal ...