Decoding the Now: Research

By Simone Melo

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated trends in the higher education sector with unfolding impacts on universities’ ways of carrying out research. At first, the disruption posed by the health situation created a critical scene in which emergency-responses marked decision-making. Institutions worldwide actively engaged in the fight against the spread of the disease, changing research focus to deal with the health problem, providing scientific and policy advice, and adapting in-house facilities to enable testing-development and hygiene kits. The rapid shift in research priorities and professional practices and the agility through which universities switched operations to meet social-distancing and lockdown challenges signal a way out of the crisis. Innovation, collaboration, and flexibility will remain key features as universities transition into the new normal.

On January 21st, the GFCC held the Now. Bridge. Reboot Decoding the Now: Research in partnership with the University of Southampton, an online event on the pandemic learnings and long-term implications in the research space. Rachel Mills, Dean of the Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences from the University of Southampton, Paul Roben, Associate Vice-Chancellor Office of Innovation and Commercialization University of California San Diego and, David Janes, Senior Advisor to the President at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), participated in the discussion sharing insights on future research portfolios and strategies. Maria Norton, Deputy Director of International Relations at the University of Southampton, and Roberto Alvarez, GFCC Executive Director, moderated the conference.

During the webinar, it became clear that the pandemic allowed universities to deepen ties with local communities and governments, and in some cases, with industry partners. It has also strengthened the institution’s civic duty and created an opportunity for scaling up sustainable and inclusive collaborative models. Nearly one year into lockdown and COVID-related restrictions, it is unlikely research will go back to business as usual as institutions use the recovery to redesign their models. Three main trends influencing research going forward stood out in the discussion: research to create a positive impact, transdisciplinarity, and sustainable recovery.

Research for impact

The pandemic proved how intertwined universities and local communities are, with a growing appetite for research that fosters social impact. The old model represented in the ivory tower’s myth is deemed to disappear as demands increase for universities to leverage their social responsibility mission. Even before COVID-19, the trend of fostering a social impact already permeated early career researchers’ mindsets. This shifting generational paradigm has nourished the young generation’s ambitions, for whom often designing a project includes looking beyond “publishing papers and collecting grants” and embraces the study’s significance for improving quality of life in local communities.

At OIST, founded in 2011, one of the goals from its inception was promoting collaboration with local partners, industries, and government to develop a sustainable future for Okinawa, the Japanese island where the institute is located. OIST aimed to boost local scientific literacy, hosting science fairs and open discussions on campus before COVID-19. The institute also held a policy of extending access to its facilities to other Japanese universities that wanted to conduct experiments with their equipment.

Since the pandemic began, research priorities at OIST have been redirected to address the COVID-19 problem in the local community. At first, the institute worked with industry partners to manufacture supplies for city hospitals, such as face shields and masks, lately engaging on RT-PCR and antibody testing. There are currently 12 engineering research projects, coupled with two social initiatives to address the virus’s impacts on the district population.

Breaking down lab walls

Collaboration across sectors and transdisciplinarity emerged as an opportunity. As the health crisis hit societies and notably higher education institutions, it raised a prompt call to engage multiple stakeholders for developing solutions. In universities, researchers and staff from different faculties gathered in innovative projects to create ventilators, testing kits, and facilitate community services. The development of the COVID-19 vaccine at a record speed shows how collaboration can accelerate innovation.

The widespread use of tech tools for working and conducting research has also facilitated international collaboration, making it easier for speakers from different countries to participate in online webinars. Virtual communication tools and the increasing use of digital platforms can lay the ground for democratization, accessibility, and inclusiveness in the research space.

The University of California San Diego created a platform called Earth 2.0 in response to COVID-19 that connects experts, citizens, NGOs, governments, and industry. The idea is to leverage ‘brain power’ from different backgrounds to solve the world’s most pressing problems using cutting-edge tools.

Green recovery

The pandemic has also been an opportunity for universities to rethink sustainable policies and invest in a green recovery, laying out strategies for reducing their carbon footprints. Remote work and travel bans have already contributed to fewer carbon emissions among university staff and students. Still, an overall strategy must assess the use of university buildings, individual office spaces, and travel and international conferences.

The University of Southampton has designed a Sustainability Strategy to bounce back from the pandemic with a smaller carbon footprint, measured against six goals. Crafted in partnership with the Students’ Union, the strategy sets out a roadmap to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030, making sustainability a cornerstone of research and societal impact and part of all university education programs by 2025. Concerning global conferences, the institution will adopt a value-based approach to reduce emissions from business travel. The vision is that by 2030, sustainability will be a part of everything the University of Southampton does.