THE ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY IS IRELAND'S LEADING BODY OF EXPERTS IN THE SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

The Royal Irish Academy/Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann champions research. We identify and recognise Ireland’s world class researchers. We support scholarship and promote awareness of how science and the humanities enrich our lives and benefit society. We believe that good research needs to be promoted, sustained and communicated. The Academy is run by a Council of its members. Membership is by election and considered the highest academic honour in Ireland.

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Watch How can Higher Education ‘build forward better’?

05 March 2021

If you missed Session 1 of the Higher Education Building Forward Better sustainability webinar series. - Research and Innovation held on 23 February 20210 you can watch it now.

About the Series

The pandemic posed unprecedented challenges across our societies and economies, upending conventional wisdom in myriad ways. But the challenge of transitioning to a sustainable future remains an urgent priority at national, European and global level. The need to “build back better” or, perhaps more appropriately, “build forward better”, has become a slogan of those seeking to integrate sustainability priorities into Covid-19 recovery plans. Higher education has a crucial role to play in the transition to a sustainable future. Higher education campuses and staff can lead by example, pilot and showcase best practice in sustainability initiatives, support policymaking and industry with evidence-based solutions and engage generations of learners towards more sustainable ways of living.

Session 1 in the series focused on these themes in relation to research and innovation and heard from:

  • Professor Linda Doyle, Trinity College Dublin
  • Dr Olga Grant, Office of Government Procurement
  • Professor Ana Viseu, University of Lisbon
  • Professor Brian Ó Gallachóir, University College Cork.
  • Professor Tom Flanagan, University College Dublin.
  • Chair: Professor Tasman Crowe, University College Dublin Earth Institute.

Questions and Issues

  • The session will focused on questions such as:
  • How has our understanding of sustainability research and innovation been altered by the Covid-19 pandemic?
  • What new research agendas have been opened up?
  • How can cross-disciplinary and cross-institution collaboration be fostered, including between STEM and AHSS disciplines?
  • How can national research infrastructure be calibrated to enable impactful sustainability research?
  • How can knowledge transfer be enacted and enhanced in a post-Covid world to translate evidence bases and solutions?

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