Task and Finish Group Consultation for the Pilot Energy and Net Zero Research Institute

Under the University’s plans for the delivery of the Research and Innovation Core Plan, a Project Management Board (PMB) was established as the mechanism for delivering the University’s commitments to the setting up of Flagship Institutes.

These Flagship Institutes will deliver a step-change in impactful world-leading research and innovation through accelerating collaborative and interdisciplinary discovery.

The Flagship Institute PMB is composed of Prof. Dan Parsons (PVC Research & Innovation); Prof. Lauren Sherar (Dean SSEHS); Prof. Emily Keightley (A-PVC Vibrant & Inclusive Communities, SSSH); Prof. Claire Warden (A-DRI SCDA); Prof. Ed Brown (STEER, SSSH); Prof. Karen Coopman (A-PVC Excellence & Focus, AACME) and Jennifer Johnson (Director Research and Innovation Office).

The PMB has committed to taking forward the establishment of an Energy and Net Zero Institute as a pilot, alongside the ongoing development of the Outline Business Case (OBC) for the wider Flagship Institutes project. The PMB tasked a subgroup (Prof. Ed Brown, Prof. Rob Dorrell (SABCE), Natalie Savage and Smita Jenna) with the development of an Energy and Net Zero Institute Pilot Proposal to include the establishment of the structures for the Institute, for submission to the Research and Innovation Core Plan Board.

This pilot proposal has now been drafted. It sets out a programme to meet the vision articulated in the findings of a previous PMB that met throughout 2023 which established that, “The Energy and Net Zero Institute at the University will serve as a centralised hub for energy research, innovation, and collaboration across disciplines. As a branded network, the University Institute will bring together energy and net-zero research and innovation activities across the University under one umbrella to enhance visibility, connectivity, and strategic growth.”

Members of the university research community are invited to participate in a task and finish group consultation event on 3 October, which will discuss the proposed structure and functioning of the Institute in detail, where all documentation will be circulated in advance. The meeting will act as a final stage stakeholder review of the delivery of the Institute in accordance with the University’s Research and Innovation Core Plan.

We encourage early registration as the venue has limited capacity and places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.