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Research
  1. Queen Mary University of London
  2. Research
  3. Strategy, support and guidance
  4. Our research strategy

Our research strategy

To create a truly inclusive environment, building on our cherished cultural diversity, where students and staff flourish, reach their full potential and are proud to be part of the University. Dedicated to the public good, we will generate new knowledge, challenge existing knowledge, and engage locally, nationally and internationally to create a better world.

Professor Andrew Livingston
At Queen Mary, research is for everyone. From interdisciplinary collaborations to workplace-based applied research, we’re finding ways to discover, innovate and change the world
— Andrew Livingston, Vice-Principal (Research and Innovation)

Research and innovation principles

Entrepreneurship, innovation and engagement are embedded in our research culture. We’re committed to achieving impact and involving end users, patients, policy-makers and the public in the research we do. 

This core area of our strategy is delivered through our research and innovation principles below.

  • Attract the best researchers from all over the world, and develop our staff and research students to become world leaders in disciplinary and interdisciplinary research and innovation
  • Significantly increase external research funding to support our research activities from multiple national and international sources. Our internal funding will be used to stimulate new activity in priority areas of research, used to leverage external funding, and to focus on defined areas of excellence and interdisciplinary research
  • Provide a world-class virtual and physical research infrastructure, available to all researchers, supported by internal and significant external funding. Our professional research support staff will be effective, efficient and agile in providing support through the full life-cycle of all our research projects
  • Produce world-leading research outputs as assessed by our peers, with a clear and disciplined focus on global and local economic and societal impact. We will ensure that our research is accessible by adherence to recognised open science principles
  • Regularly assess how we support, review and undertake research to foster diversity and inclusion and ensure that our research practice is of the highest quality in terms of research ethics and integrity

Pillars of research excellence

Our three pillars of research excellence are: 

1. Providing world-class support for our researchers

To support our researchers at every stage of their careers we will:

  • Attract world-class research talent from all corners of the globe, and grow and develop our own
  • Support researchers to work across disciplinary, organisational and geographical boundaries
  • Lead innovation in doctoral education and support, developing and significantly increasing our PhD student population and welcoming funded full and part-time students from traditional and alternative routes from all over the world
  • Significantly increase our number of externally-funded Research Fellows and postdoctoral researchers and support them to develop a world-class research career
  • Support researchers to significantly increase external research income, and invest in targeted areas, including through our University Research Institutes, that align with national and international strategic priorities to maximise impact
  • Ensure all our researchers are supported to be leaders in their fields, through investment in leadership, management and supervision training.

Learn more about how we support our researchers

2. Creating a world-class research environment, focused on our strengths, which enables staff and students to flourish

To achieve excellence in research outputs and impact, we will:

  • Create University Research Institutes, University Research Centres and University Research Networks based on our existing and developing research strengths and societal need. These will be under continuous review, flexed to align with our strengths, and will enable focused investment
  • Build upon our discipline strengths to attract and retain the best talent, train future researchers and shape the disciplines nationally and internationally. Based on these strengths we will significantly increase our interdisciplinary research to address future socioeconomic global challenges
  • Provide sustainable and accessible world-class research facilities and attract significant UK and international external funding to support our physical and virtual research environment
  • Encourage our research community to collaborate across the world, maintaining an agile approach to individual and research group partnerships, and grow and invest in a small number of strategic international partnerships with leading institutions
  • Significantly increase our industrial partnerships, supporting funded collaborative research
  • Host Centres for Doctoral Training, and develop collaborative doctoral programmes with strategic partners, to support research in our faculties and in our University Research Institutes
  • Mobilise our alumni worldwide – our global family – to help develop new research and industry links.

3. Producing world-leading research outputs and ensuring that research development, innovation, enterprise and social impact are embedded in all our research activities

To achieve excellence in research outputs and impact, we will:

  • Nurture a world-class research culture for our entire community
  • Continually increase the volume of our world-leading outputs, as recognised by peer communities
  • Provide sustainable and accessible world-class research facilities and attract significant UK and international external funding to support our physical and virtual research environment
  • Encourage our research community to collaborate across the world, maintaining an agile approach to individual and research group partnerships, and grow and invest in a small number of strategic international partnerships with leading institutions
  • Support innovation, development, entrepreneurship and impact to address global and national challenges, including those articulated in the national Industrial Strategy, and maintain our position as a leader in public-engaged research
  • Embed a culture at Queen Mary where impact, innovation and engagement are an innate part of all research activity, and publicise our impact internally, nationally and internationally to enhance our global reputation
  • Build on our core values to further embed a culture of engaged research practice, creating an environment where research can be shaped, conducted, and results disseminated with the public as partners, at home and overseas
  • Become a UK leader in the measurable impact of licences and spin-outs from our research community.

Policies and ethics

Queen Mary is committed to producing and promoting high-quality research. Our research policies ensure that research and innovation is effectively fostered, conducted and disseminated to the highest standards of integrity. We have a full set of policies covering all aspects of research which can be found in our ethics and policies section.

Learn more about our research policies and ethics

Support for our researchers

The Researcher Development team promotes research excellence through supporting researchers to excel in their careers, whatever their career goals. We provide personal, professional and career development opportunities for researchers of all disciplines and at all levels at Queen Mary. We offer support through:

  • Training courses
  • Writing and funding training
  • Wellbeing resources
  • Three-minute thesis (3MT®) information and training
  • Individual and group mentoring and development
  • Resources, frameworks and surveys

Discover how we support our researchers

Research Excellence Framework

In the most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014), 90% of Queen Mary University of London’s research impact across the disciplines was of 4* (outstanding) or 3* (very considerable) quality in terms of reach and significance. We are committed to achieving an excellent outcome in REF 2021.

Learn more about the Research Excellence Framework

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