As part of our University Strategy 2030, Creating Better Futures. Together, and the ambitions set out in our Research and Innovation Core Plan, we are committed to growing Loughborough’s research intensity, strengthening interdisciplinarity, and increasing the scale and reach of our research and impact.
To support these ambitions, the University is establishing six new Flagship Research Institutes. Each Institute will bring together established and emerging areas of excellence around a globally significant theme, creating stronger connections across disciplines, strengthening Loughborough’s profile and leadership, and providing a clearer platform for collaboration with external partners.
The Institutes will create visible and ambitious research communities through which colleagues can connect expertise, generate new ideas and partnerships, and develop major programmes capable of attracting large-scale research and innovation funding and delivering world-leading impact.
Each Institute will be led by an Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor (APVC)/Director, appointed from among our existing academic staff and undertaking the role on a part-time basis.
Following a competitive recruitment process, we are pleased to confirm that the following appointments have been made and ratified by Senate:
- Flagship Institute for Clean Energy – Professor Robert Dorrell, School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering
- Flagship Institute for Culture and Society – Professor Emily Keightley, School of Social Sciences and Humanities
- Flagship Institute for Digital Futures – Professor Qiuhua Liang, School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering
- Flagship Institute for Healthy Living – Professor Paul Roach, School of Science
- Flagship Institute for Responsible Manufacturing – Professor Anish Roy, Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering
- Flagship Institute for Women in Sport – Professor Leanne Norman, School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences
The Institute Directors will serve for an initial three-year period, with the possibility of renewal. The appointments are cost-neutral, with the roles delivered through the reallocation of existing responsibilities and staff time. They replace the previous APVC roles associated with the University’s three strategic themes, whose terms of office conclude at the end of July.
The Flagship Research Institutes will sit alongside the University’s existing Sector Groups as complementary parts of our wider research and innovation architecture. The Institutes will provide interdisciplinary platforms through which colleagues can develop major thematic programmes and pursue large-scale, cross-council and multidisciplinary funding opportunities, while the Sector Groups will continue to provide an outward-facing route for aligning our expertise with government, industrial and societal priorities, building strategic partnerships, and supporting innovation, commercialisation and impact.
Together, these structures will connect discovery research, interdisciplinary challenge-led programmes and external engagement more systematically. This reflects the direction of the wider research funding landscape, including the UKRI Strategy 2026–31 and its emphasis on curiosity-driven research, government and societal priorities, support for innovative companies, and the capabilities needed to deliver research and innovation at scale.
Over the summer, the Institute Directors will develop operational plans for their respective Institutes. In parallel, a coordinated programme of activity is being developed for the coming academic year to formally launch the Institutes and showcase their ambitions, priorities and expertise.
Recruitment for further roles within the Institutes will begin in the autumn. Two Associate Fellows will be appointed to each Institute, with workload allocation to support the Director and help drive thematic activity.
All staff will be encouraged to engage with the Institute or Institutes most relevant to their work through an open affiliation route. This will enable colleagues from across the University to connect with Institute communities, contribute to activities and funding opportunities, and help shape their future development. Staff will also be able to affiliate with more than one Institute where their expertise and interests span different themes.
The Flagship Research Institutes are intended to be inclusive, outward-facing and ambitious communities. Further information about affiliation, Institute activities and opportunities to contribute will be shared during the autumn.