HEAT@UWE: Bridging the Gaps in Health, Environment And Technology (HEAT) Research

HEAT@UWE是一项分阶段的活动方案，旨在促进UWE在卫生、环境和技术这三个研究优势领域的跨学科研究文化。这些领域的研究在布里斯托尔理工学院（BIT）和新成立的可持续发展、健康和环境研究所（ISHE）进行。HEAT@UWE旨在将这两个多学科研究所的研究人员聚集在一起，提供具有重大经济、环境和社会效益的研究。其目的是利用UWE的应用研究传统及其研究实力的地位（证明了我们2008年的研究评审结果和我们在RCUK资助方面最成功的92后大学的地位）。HEAT@UWE源于认识到人类健康和环境目前在国家和国际政治议程上具有前所未有的地位。气候变化、不可持续的资源利用、恶劣的建筑环境和运输系统等环境问题，以及肥胖、精神疾病和慢性病等公共卫生问题，都是我们这个时代最棘手的挑战。值得注意的是，技术在解决这些问题方面可以发挥的作用现在正在得到承认。它可以在健康和环境系统之间进行干预（例如，通过新的传感技术、复杂性科学应用、真实环境中的计算人工制品或减少碳足迹的系统），也可以用作理解健康与环境之间关系的手段（例如，通过可视化模型或模拟）。虽然这些问题的相互关联性质在很大程度上被接受，但研究文化和实践仍然倾向于以学科为中心和分散。这些领域的多学科和跨学科研究相对不成熟，方法差异等重大障碍正在影响我们在这些关键政策领域取得有意义突破的能力。HEAT@UWE是一项为期3年的活动计划，在学术环境中采用最佳合作实践，建立并维持UWE及其利益相关者的多学科研究文化。这些活动经过精心规划，以最大限度地利用机会，从一个庞大而多样化的研究人员群体中获得有意义的成果。最初，有一个熟悉阶段，让研究人员知道他们的同事在做什么。这包括一个大型的远景会议，以确定早期的合作机会（每年举行两次以上），以及一些在线协作工具的开发，如研究人员目录和网络休息室。然后是一个旨在支持新兴合作的活动阶段，包括跨学科借调和交流、访问、多学科系列研讨会和学习实验室等活动。然后，该方案通过诸如静修日和竞争启动资金等活动进入正式合作和产生产出的阶段。这些活动的目的是帮助来自不同背景的研究人员一起工作，建立可以向前推进的有意义的伙伴关系。HEAT@UWE的最终目标是嵌入和维持一个多学科的研究文化，使我们成为一个国家中心的热研究，具有卓越的国际声誉。我们设想该计划将产生有益于社会的新知识、新产品和新应用。

HEAT@UWE is a phased programme of activities designed to facilitate an interdisciplinary research culture across three areas of research strength at UWE: Health, Environment and Technology. Research in these fields is carried out in the Bristol Institute of Technology (BIT) and the newly formed Institute for Sustainability, Health and the Environment (ISHE). HEAT@UWE seeks to bring researchers from these two multi-disciplinary Institutes together to deliver research with significant economic, environmental and social benefit. The aim is to capitalise on UWE's tradition of applied research and its position of research strength (evidenced in our RAE 2008 results and our position as the most successful post-92 University in terms of RCUK funding). HEAT@UWE has grown out of the recognition that human health and the environment currently have an unprecedented position on national and international political agendas. Environmental issues such as climate change, unsustainable resource use, poor built environments and transport systems as well as public health issues such as obesity, mental illness, and chronic disease are some of the most intractable challenges of our time. Significantly, the role that technology can play in addressing these problems is now being recognised. It can intervene between health and environmental systems (through, for example new sensing technologies, complexity science applications, computation artefacts in real environments or systems to reduce carbon footprints) or it can be used as a means of understanding relationships between health and the environment (for example, through visualisation models or simulations). Whilst the inter-related nature of these issues is largely accepted, research cultures and practices still tend to be discipline-focused and fragmented. Multi- and inter-disciplinary research in these areas is relatively immature, and significant barriers, such as methodological differences, are having an impact on our ability to make meaningful breakthroughs in these critical policy areas.HEAT@UWE is a 3-year programme of activities that uses best practice in collaborative working in academic settings to build on, and sustain, a multi-disciplinary research culture at UWE, and with its stakeholders. The activities have been planned carefully to maximise opportunities for meaningful outcomes from a large and diverse group of researchers. Initially, there is a familiarisation phase to let researchers know what their colleagues do. This includes a large Visions Conference to scope early collaborative opportunities (2 more are held annually), and the development of a number of on-line collaboration tools, such as a directory of researchers and a web-lounge. Then there is a phase of activities designed to support emerging collaborations, through activities including discipline-hopping secondments and exchanges, visits, a multi-disciplinary seminar series and learning laboratories. The Programme then moves to a phase of formalising collaborations and producing outputs, via activities such as retreat days, and a competition for start-up funding. These activities are designed to help researchers from different backgrounds work together and produce meaningful partnerships which can be taken forward.Ultimately the aim of HEAT@UWE is to embed and sustain a multi-disciplinary research culture, to enable us to become a national centre for HEAT research, with an international reputation for excellence. We envisage the Programme will produce new knowledge, products and applications that will benefit society.