Research Excellence in the Department of Environmental and Geographical Sciences

Just before Christmas the Department of Environmental and Geographical Sciences received an early present with the release of the results of the Research Excellence Framework.  This is a national assessment of research activity carried out by the government in all British universities, and the outcome determines how much core research funding they receive over the next six years.  The Department was very pleased with the result of our submission to the Geography and Environmental Studies panel; over 40% of our research papers were rated as “world leading” or “internationally excellent”, with most of the rest being “recognised internationally”.  In addition some of the Human Geography staff working on children’s geographies were entered into the Education unit of assessment, which also did well.  For a young, mainly teaching-focused, non-research-intensive institution such as the University of Northampton, it was an impressive result.  All of this research feeds directly into the student experience, by way of case studies and cutting-edge findings, bringing the subject alive and relevant to the modern world.  

John Dururu wins CIWM Roger Perry Award for Best Research Paper 2014

A former MSc student in Environmental Management, John Dururu has been awarded the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM)’s Roger Perry Award for Best Research Paper 2014. The award is made annually, to recognise the research being carried out by members of the Institution at Masters and PhD level and is presented to the best written paper based on a research project. For 2014, the Assessors recommended that the award be given for John’s dissertation "Voluntary and Community Sector organisations (furniture re-use) and the sustainable consumption and production agenda in the UK".

The Award will be presented during the Institution’s Awards Ceremony, held at the Grosvenor Square Marriott Hotel, London, during the afternoon of Thursday 6th November 2014.