The University will host a major international conference from 30 June to 2 July on how low and middle-income nations can build resilience into their infrastructure and operations to help drive economic, social and cultural development.
‘The GCRF is a £1.5bn fund that supports cutting-edge research addressing the challenges faced by countries that are recipients of overseas development assistance (ODA).’
The University of Kent has been a key beneficiary of the Fund since its inception, with Kent academics spearheading numerous GCRF-funded research projects in ODA-recipient countries.
This has included everything from building capacity in eastern Europe and central Asia (GCRF COMPASS project), led by Professor Elena Korosteleva, School of Politics and International Relations, to the development of disease prevention strategies for the Malaysian fish farming industry (GCRF Biopharma project), led by Professor Colin Robinson and Professor Mark Smales, School of Biosciences. More information about Kent’s GCRF activities can be viewed here.
Kent was awarded additional GCRF Funding from Research England in 2018, and this year’s GCRF conference will showcase twelve incredible projects led by Kent academics in ODA recipient countries over the first half of 2019. You can read more about these projects here.
The conference, entitled Building Resilience, will take place at the Canterbury campus, and will run parallel to the GCRF COMPASS Signature Conference focusing on Governance and Resilience in Wider Eurasia. The programme will focus not just on the idea of resilience in the face of natural disasters, but other areas too, as outlined below:
- Preparing for a Changing Environment
- Sustainable Tourism and Heritage
- Improving Health and Wellbeing
- Development through Higher Education
More information about the conference, including the conference programme, are available here.
University Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Karen Cox will give the opening welcome to the event on Monday 1 July, followed by a provocation by Dr James Borrell, Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew asking, ‘Is a Resilient World Achievable?’