Exhibitions - Talks - Storyboarding - Discussions - Story Telling and more...
Audience: PGRs, researchers/academics & research-enabling staff, technicians and anyone with an interest in research culture.
We were delighted to welcome staff and students to the Lancaster University Research Culture Week 2025, which took place between 24-26 September 2025.
The week was dedicated to showcasing initiatives, opportunities and good practices across the University aimed at enhancing our research culture. Practical tips for breaking down barriers to research, protecting research time and engagement and impact all featured. There was lively debate on current challenges in the use of AI in research and considerations for embedding sustainability and inclusion.
The programme was designed for and by the research community - Postgraduate Researchers (PGRs), Research-only staff, Academic staff, Technicians, and Professional Services staff hosted twenty sessions and exhibitions. Across the week over 230 members of staff and PGRs participated in one or more sessions and 55 were contributors/facilitators.
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Professor Malcolm Joyce, Interim Pro-VC for Research & Enterprise opened the session, followed by presentations from:
Professor Kendi Guantai, Dean for Culture and Inclusion
Professor Stijn Mertens, Academic Director of Research Culture
The panel discussion provided perspectives from each of the faculties on creating a flourishing and inclusive research culture at Lancaster.
Chair: Dr Dee Hennessy, Creative Engagement Manager, RES
Panel Members:
Professor Ian Gregory – Associate Dean for Research | FHASS
Professor Maria Piacentini – Associate Dean for Research | LUMS
Professor Corina Sas - Assistant Dean for Research Enhancement | FST
Professor Jo Knight - Associate Dean for Research Enhancement | FHM
This session explored the REF pilot for the measurement and assessment of People, Culture and Environment. Becky Gordon, Head of Research Quality and Policy reflected on the importance of evaluation and benchmarking to celebrate success, share best practice and identify areas for enhancement.
Generative AI can support research in many ways. However, there are several conundrums that need to be discussed before using generative AI as a research tool. This was a lively conversation to inspire research practices.
Facilitators:
Dr Heather Shaw, Lecturer | Psychology
Dr Sam Finnerty, Senior Research Assistant | Psychology
A podcast of the discussion is in production and will be posted when available.
This session explored:
Different ways to evaluate products, services and interventions including how economic value is assessed.
How you can use your existing research skills to contribute to a wide variety of funded evaluation projects.
How the Health and Care Evaluation Facility builds partnerships across the university and beyond to create new opportunities and attract funding.
Facilitators
Dr Hebatallah Ali, Senior Research Associate | Medtech Economist (FHM)
Dr Elisavet Christou, Lecturer | Management and Organisation Studies (LUMS)
This session showcased how LUMS research creates impact through collaboration with industry and government, and through engagement with real-world challenges. It featured active projects in LUMS and highlighted the “virtuous circle” approach, linking academic excellence with industry, government, and regulatory impact in a dynamic business and management school ecosystem.
Cultural partnerships can spark innovative engagement with research. Lancaster University researchers showcased how collaborating with artists and cultural organisations, enabled through IAA funding, led to the success of projects including Light Up Lancaster. The mutual benefits of these partnerships, how to get started, and using this approach in research were all explored.
Facilitators
Jamie Hodges, IAA Partnership Development Manager | RES
Dr Nathan Jones, Senior Lecturer | LICA
Bethan Marriott, Engagement and Events Manager| RES
Jess, Shaw, Public Engagement Manager | RES
Sarah Tooze, Faculty Engagement and Partnership Manager | RES
Open Research is encouraged by the University and is increasingly mandated by research funders. This session looked at how Open Research can apply to research and its benefits, such as through allowing larger audiences to access your work. The session featured an interactive activity mapping where Open Research might benefit your work in the research life cycle and how the Library can support this.
This was followed by a short pitch from : “Relaunch of ReproducibiliTea: Refreshing Open Science journal clubs”. ReproducibiliTea is an international journal club focussed on furthering our understanding of open science practices. This pitch was used to gauge interest in arranging regular meetings across faculties at Lancaster, welcoming everyone from PhD students to professors.
Facilitators
Tom Morley, Research Culture and Open Monographs Lead | Library
Fellowships come in all shapes and sizes, and identifying the best one for you, can appear daunting and confusing. This session provided an overview of different fellowships available across all career stages, to help navigate the complex and changing landscape of opportunities. The internal selection processes were highlighted and the support provided throughout the application process. Academics that had successfully applied for fellowships shared their experiences of applying for, then undertaking their fellowships; how the experience has shaped their career, and what they learned along the way.
Facilitators
Dr Odette Dewhurst, Senior Research Development Manager | RES
Dr Mandy Dillon, Senior Research Development Manager | RES
Constanze Vageler, Senior Research Development Manager | RES
Fellowship Panel
Dr Andrew Marshall, Senior Lecturer | Physics
Professor Chris Nemeth, Professor of Mathematical AI | Mathematical Sciences
This hands-on workshop used a storyboard canvas to help academics/research staff/PhD students explore and overcome personal, practical, and emotional barriers to research. Through visual mapping and guided reflection, participants identified challenges, unlocked enablers, and committed to meaningful action—making progress on papers, proposals, or projects feel more achievable and less overwhelming.
Facilitator
Dr Allie Clifton, Research Development Officer | RES
This session showcased activities across Lancaster University that aim to protect and respect research time and explored what happens if we do not protect and respect time for research. After the showcasing participants collaborated to construct 10 top tips for protecting and respecting research time.
Facilitators
Dr Jemma Kerns, Senior Lecturer/Director of Research | Lancaster Medical School
Local governments face huge challenges tackling issues such as climate change and health inequalities in their region.
Through collaborating with local government researchers can play a valuable role in helping to address these challenges.
But how to get started?
This workshop explored the experience of engaging from the researcher and local authority perspective. The value of engaging with local government and practical tips to do so were explored.
Facilitators
Professor Heather Brown | Health Research
Liz Harper, Local Authority Research Practitioner | Westmoreland and Furness Council
Dr Amelia Simpson, Research Associate | NIHR Health Determinants Research Collaboration, Blackpool
In this session, run by and for research-only staff group leads, key issues facing the research community were discussed, in particular, how to manage our (career) development and support each other in these challenging times.
The session included:
Collating concerns and resolutions that the research-only staff leads can advocate for.
Sharing ideas and resources for (career) development.
Reflecting on your next steps to support your development.
Increasing awareness of faculty researcher development groups.
Opportunities to chat with other research-only staff and build community.
Facilitators
Dr Linda Cusworth, Research Fellow | Co-chair Research Staff Network -FHASS
Dr Cara Molyneux, Senior Research Associate | RCAD Chair- LUMS
Dr Emma Putland, Senior Research Associate | Co-chair Research Staff Network - FHASS
Dr Margaret Sandars, Faculty Research Project Manager | RCAD Chair- FHM
Dr Luis Pinho, Research Associate | former RCAD Co-chair - FST
The PhD experience can be very isolating, and yet community and collaboration form a fundamental part of research. This session drew together experience with reading and research groups, identifying areas of best practice and what to avoid. Feedback and thoughts from this session will go on to form part of an open educational resource which empowers and supports PhD students to create research and reading groups.
Facilitator
Chris Sanderson, Postgraduate Researcher (PGR) | FHASS
Sustainability and inclusion should involve everyone, yet many voices at the university are often ignored. This workshop reflected on times your voice was unheard to explore why ideas are dismissed and how a more democratic process for advancing sustainability and inclusion can be constructed.
Facilitators
Mark Ryan, Postgraduate Researcher | Marketing
Dr Yingnian Tao, Senior Research Associate, Reimagining Research Practices | Psychology
This session launched the Unsecurities Lab 1& 2 reports, with immersive screenings from both Labs: Charybdis (marine biological threats) and LUMI (AI-led cryosphere restoration). Alongside expert commentary and synthetic dialogues drawn from Lab transcripts, the event showcased how immersive art can probe emerging techno-ecological security challenges.
It provided a chance to explore the interdisciplinary discoveries of the Lab so far and to see how its unique methods can be adapted to perform foresight and alternative exploration in issues of complexity. The session also offered colleagues an opportunity to connect with the Lab team and consider future participation.
Facilitator Dr Nathan Jones, Senior Lecturer | School of Arts Unsecurities Theme Lead | Security Lancaster
The story is not the map, it's an invitation to imagine mutual connections, possibilities, and potential for you, your research, and non-academic partners.
This session helped participants to discover shared values and visions in order to write their next chapters.
Facilitator
Sharon Summers, Postgraduate Researcher (PGR) | LICA
This workshop used activities adapted from a new institutional training that has been designed to introduce sustainability in research practice.
Facilitator
Dr Valerie Seymour, Education Fellow, Reimagining Research Practices | RES
CREDIT - Community Research Digital Toolkit - beta version of the toolkit available
Curious about what a "zine" is? Participants in this workshop got creative by crafting a single-page zine on their research or an area of interest. There was an introduction to the decolonial relevance of zines and zine making as a practice. Participants left the workshop understanding the potential of Zines as an accessible, engaging and inclusive way of communication.
Facilitators
Dr Sunita Abraham, Lecturer | School of Global Affairs
Meg Ritchie, Postgraduate Researcher | School of Social Sciences
Technicians and Research Culture – this exhibition highlighted the vital role technicians play in contributing to research culture and how the Research excellence Culture Action Plan (ReCAP) and the Technician's Commitment Action Plan relate to each other. There was case studies, photos and information about the 2025 Technician Awards.
Reimagining inclusive and community centred research – an interactive exhibition showcasing current progress and engage the broader research community in a dialogue about inclusive and community- centred research. The exhibition had three components:
Inclusive Research Practice: Principles, Opportunities, and Challenges - insights gathered through interviews and focus groups with marginalised and disadvantaged communities. A set of evolving principles of inclusive research were shared, along with common challenges and emerging opportunities.
The CREDIT Toolkit: Supporting Community-Engaged Research – the Community REsearch Digital Toolkit (CREDIT) is a resource to support research practices involving communities as active collaborators - such as citizen science, participatory research, and other community-involved methodologies.
Graphic novel - based on researcher and community narratives shared through focus groups and interviews and capturing the diverse experiences and perspectives of researchers engaging in community-centred work.
A great way to end the RC Week - a zine making workshop! Learning about the place of zines in decolonisation and having a go ourselves.
Data Immersion Suite - Unsecurities report launch
The Data Immersion Suite (DSI) was used to launch the unsecurities report - a spellbinding session using the DSI to its full potential.
Reimagining Research Practices exhibition
An interactive exhibition showcasing current outputs from the Wellcome Trust Reimagining Research Practices (RRP) project and engaging the broader research community in a dialogue about inclusive and community- centred research.
Open Research Teapot
The launch of the ReproducibilitTEA open science journal club, and what better way than with the specially commissioned TEApot!
The start of Research Culture Week
Participants arriving for the start of Research Culture Week. Enjoying refreshments and a chance to catch up after the summer break.
With thanks to Andy Currington, Research and Enterprise Services, for taking this photo.
Lancaster
The Research Culture Week held on the Lancaster campus just before the start of the Michaelmas term 2025
Professor Kendi Guanai
At the start of the Research Culture Week Professor Kendi Guantai, Dean for Culture & Inclusion gave an invigorating keynote address highlighting her career to date and the priorities in her new role and how these relate to research culture.
With thanks to Andy Currington, Research and Enterprise Services, for taking this photo.
Research Culture in the Faculties
Senior leaders from each faculty gave their perspectives on creating a flourishing and inclusive research culture at Lancaster.
With thanks to Andy Currington, Research and Enterprise Services, for taking this photo.
Cuppa Conundrum - AI in Research
This was a lively session discussing the use of generative AI as a research tool - opportunities and challenges.
Breaking down barriers to research progress
Using a storyboard canvas technique to overcome personal, practical and emotional barriers to research progress.
Question time
Question time during the Faculty Panel session. The microphone dice needed to be cast and caught before a question could be asked!
