About Brunel's Submission
Brunel worked hard to ensure as many research-active staff as possible made submissions to the RAE2008, and that the University's research was presented to the various panels in the most effective way.
In line with our belief in an inclusive research community, the University's submission was significantly stronger than in 2001, with more researchers and a higher proportion of academics submitted to a larger number of UOAs.
1) Submission Highlights
- Brunel submitted 534 members of staff (335 in 2001)
- This translates into 87% of all eligible staff (61% in 2001)
- We made a particular effort to submit high numbers of early career
researchers – 21% in total - More than 50 staff were returned in each of the units of assessment for:
- General Engineering;
- Allied Health Professions and Studies;
- Library and Information Management;
- Business Management.
- We returned details of over 2,200 research outputs
- Over 750 research students have completed PhDs at Brunel since 2001
2) New Initiatives
Since 2001 a range of initiatives has been launched to further develop and enhance the research environment. These include:- The establishment of University Research Centres and Interdisciplinary Research Centres around coherent research themes and strengths;
- The creation of four Collaborative Research Networks in the areas of Ageing, Complexity, Energy and Environmental Sustainability, and Security, Human Rights and the Media;
- Arrangements for the mentoring of less experienced academics, and internal peer review of research applications;
- A new, streamlined research leave scheme to encourage the uptake of periods of study leave;
- A Knowledge Transfer scheme to encourage the development of R&D projects with industrial partners;
- A programme of events to help stimulate research activity, such as the annual "Buzz" event, run in conjunction with the Research Councils, to develop proposal writing skills and to facilitate networking and cross-disciplinary research.
3) Strengthening Research
As well as reporting on the research achievements of the staff within each unit of assessment, there have been many changes at university level which have enhanced our research culture.
Notably, the University's infrastructure and central support has been strengthened. This includes the formation and expansion of:
- The Brunel Graduate School, which co-ordinates all postgraduate provision;
- The Research Support and Development Office, which supports the growth of external research income and provides advice on funding and collaboration.
