Environment submissions database

Due to the impact of COVID-19 and the closure of the campus in March 2020, teaching transitioned to online. Adapting to these changes created significant disruption for academic staff, particularly in the period through to September/ October 2020 and this is expected to continue throughout the 2020-21 academic year. During the early stages of the pandemic, it was made clear to staff that preparations for REF should be de-prioritised in the wider context. The University engaged closely with the funding bodies through consultations and other discussions to inform changes to the REF guidance, with feedback informed by online surveys of UoA leads. The University provided support for staff as they transitioned to working at home and for those who remained on campus as essential workers. Recognising the challenges of balancing work and caring responsibilities, Dependents’ Leave was increased and Special Leave introduced. A dedicated online resource was published providing the latest information and guidance. This included summaries and detail of emerging policies and mitigation measures as pertains to research funding, postgraduate study etc. Research activity has been impacted by Covid-19; however, the extent and duration of this will only become clear in the fullness of time. Causes of this impact have included deferral/ withdrawal of funding calls; reduced levels of available funding, particularly grants funded by the charity sector including funded projects; and internal factors, including the impact of mandatory closing of laboratories between March and July 2020 and/ or staff focusing on front-line Covid-19 response. As the pandemic progressed, and it became apparent that society would have to adapt to living with Covid-19 for the foreseeable future, the University put in place a number of targeted measures to sustain research quality and activity, supported by the allocation of c. £7.3m non-recurrent external funding from UKRI and DfE. This was focussed in four key areas: - Funded research grant extensions and PhD extensions - Interventions to reinvigorate research activity, for example including teaching buyout for research time, contributions to early-stage project costs such as data collection, and support for collaborative activities such as workshops/ networking - Targeted support for postdoctoral researchers / research fellows/ research engineers - Investment in strategic research equipment required to sustain industry collaborations During this period, Queen’s has also played a leadership role in highlighting the significant challenges facing the higher education sector and ensuring the NI voice was heard in UK-wide discussions and decisions relating to HE. NI universities remain in a disadvantaged position compared to England where there is no cap on student numbers, twofold more relative HE provision, and almost a 9% higher level of funding. This creates a challenge for economic recovery, especially as NI transitions to a knowledge economy where graduate skills are important, and highlights the need for the NI Executive and the universities to work together to create a long-term and sustainable funding model for higher education in NI.