A case study submitted to the Research Excellence Framework 2014 demonstrating the impact of the University's research.
When plans were announced to close Canterbury Roman Museum, Professor Ray Laurence of the School of European Culture and Languages drew on research at Kent to offer an alternative. He demonstrated the potential for research related to the museum’s collection, as well as novel ways to engage with its visitors.
Professor Laurence’s academic work includes the study of Roman children in public spaces. This informed his suggestion that the museum lacked positive portrayals of women and children; when they did appear in the displays, they were disconnected from a concept of the family – an important audience for the museum sector.
Canterbury City Council reversed its decision to close the museum; instead making its development a priority. Professor Laurence continues to collaborate with the museum, by developing related research and delivering talks. He has also worked with the company Cognitive to develop animated content, based on Kent’s 3D laser-scan of a figurine from the museum’s collection.
Other collaborations with Cognitive have included the production of animations with educational content for the free-to-view network, TED-Ed (see below).
The Research Excellence Framework 2014 showed that Kent ranks 17th in the UK for research intensity, has world-leading research in all subjects and that 97% of our research is deemed to be of international quality.
Contributing to the University’s REF success were the number of our world class publications, the number of research active staff and the demonstrable impact our research has made to the sciences and to economic, social and cultural understanding.