The pandemic has profoundly impacted the lives of our research students, research postdocs, technicians and academic colleagues. As with all things COVID, the landscape is diverse, with some areas being extraordinarily productive and others not being able to progress at all. As our Staff Pulse Survey has shown, some people are able to work and others not – be it for lack of access to facilities or managing the heavy demands of family life and responsibilities. The survey indicates that 17% have had a good or excellent period in progressing their research, 37% have been able to make some progress, 34% little progress, and 12% no progress.

This week I had the opportunity to talk with three research leaders about their personal views and the experiences of their teams. I hope you may wish to listen to the conversation. We talk about the successes, the challenges, and how they have adapted and continue to have to adapt. We acknowledge the great work of technical staff and postdoc staff, who have worked ingeniously to support essential research and help assure continuity of research study for students and others. We talk about how this has brought some people closer together and where isolation may still exist. Looking ahead, we will – along with many other things – need to see where we might be able to readjust and try to make good on the time we’ve lost. This is not easy or indeed guaranteed, but in some areas, the funders of research have been very helpful in adjusting expectations and funding, although this is not universal. There will also be circumstances around individual members of staff that may require individual support.

The topic of research will be featured in our next All Staff Executive Briefing on 4 March 2021, where we can continue this discussion together.

At the Court meeting last week, we discussed and approved the shape of a global sustainability and environmental strategy. Details of this will be further shared in the near future, but one immediate opportunity to engage in this is via the Hutton Debate Series at Panmure House, which actually forms part of the action we are undertaking. You can join the debate on considering the top priorities to develop a global and equitable approach to sustainability at its next event on The Response from the Science & Technology Sector. The debate speakers include Chris Stark & Dr Rebecca Heaton.

In the meantime, take care and thank you for your ongoing support of each other and our students.

Professor Richard A. Williams
Principal and Vice-Chancellor