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Global Challenges Research

Addressing Global Challenges with locally owned solutions is a key priority for Brunel University London. Research informed by the needs of society, delivered through research programmes co-created with the intended beneficiaries and stakeholders, is at the heart of our approach. Our Global Challenges research objective is to create new knowledge and drive innovation to develop more equitable access to sustainable development.

Research opportunities for students 

Research students are welcomed to Brunel as valued members of our thriving, research-intensive community. Browse PhD opportunities below and find out about the funding available for students.  

Doctoral research information
How to apply for a PhD
View list of PhDs in this area

Research focus in Global Challenges

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Affordable, reliable and sustainable energy
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Clean air, water and sanitation
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Secure and Resilient Food Systems
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Sustainable health and wellbeing

Research Centres and Groups tackling global challenges

Circular Food Forum

Circular Food Forum

Leads discussions across the “food chain” with the aim to improve resource management, through working with industries and Government to respond to global pressures of growing resource scarcity and food waste.
Equitable Development and Resilience

Equitable Development and Resilience

Centred on development and social justice issues, our group continually reflects upon how individual and collective agency can contribute to meaningful change around climate action and sustainability across Global North and South nations.
Global Lives

Global Lives

Research conducted in the Centre addresses the challenges facing society, helping to change the lives of people around the world by bringing economic, social and cultural benefits.

Institute of Communities and Society

Institute of Communities and Society

The Institute focuses on the social, community, and cultural aspects of pressing contemporary issues including migration and movement, social unrest, intersectional inequalities, and institutionalised poverty.
Institute of Digital Futures

Institute of Digital Futures

Brings together digital science and technology innovation and advancement, aligned with the Grand Challenges of the UK’s Industrial Strategy, thereby enhancing the global citizen’s quality of life.
Institute of Health, Medicine and Environments

Institute of Health, Medicine and Environments

Our challenge-led work in health and wellbeing focuses on understanding the relationships between biological, social, natural, and built environments and health and wellbeing outcomes.
Pollution Research and Policy

Pollution Research and Policy

Predictive approaches in toxicology, including combined chemical exposures and development of new frameworks for non-animal approaches for predicting toxicity; Endocrine disruptor research with an emphasis on mechanisms of disease and test method development; Pollution monitoring, clean-up technologies and chemical analytics.
Social Justice

Social Justice

Concepts of social justice and understanding of climate change, health and wellbeing, digitalisation, poverty, conflict, and inequality. Our focus is on a broad social justice agenda that is alert to and critical of inequalities.

Sustainable Energy Use in Food Chains

Sustainable Energy Use in Food Chains

Energy demand and GHG emissions reduction in all stages of the food chain; optimal ways the food chain can utilise different energy sources and interact with the energy supply system; resource efficiency through intensification of food processing.

Sustainable Plastics

Sustainable Plastics

SPLaSH group combines the strengths of social scientists in the Department of Social and Political Sciences with colleagues working in the area of plastic pollution from Environmental Sciences, Design, Business & Marketing, and Engineering. We are leading experts on behaviour change, public health protection, resource and waste management, governance aspects and sustainability design.

Browse our research projects

Case study

Strengthened farming production systems reap better harvests in Uganda

Global Challenges Brochure

Read more about our Global Challenges research

Funding

Brunel holds one of the largest portfolios of Newton Fund grants in the UK underpinning our research in Global Challenges. We also collaborate on many other international projects funded by UK Research Councils, Innovate UK, UKAID (DFID), British Council, the EU, the UN Systems and others.

Ranking

Brunel University London is ranked 40th most impactful university in the world (Times Higher Education, 2019).

Fully-funded studentships

Our funded studentships become available at different times of the year. Please keep checking our page regularly to see the latest funded opportunities. We also advertise all our funded studentships as soon as they become available on the @BrunelResearch twitter account.

View all studentships

Courses

Energy Efficient and Sustainable Technologies PhD

Global Challenges PhD

Resource Efficient Future Cities PhD
View all courses