Aug 2026· LIAS Working Paper Series· Vol 13· 0 citations
Abstract
I-REACCH (Inclusive Research Environment Achieved through Culture Change) is a Wellcome-funded initiative based at the University of Leicester, focused on co-designing practical interventions to improve research culture. A separate working paper offers a fuller account of the project’s approach and ambitions (Angell, Ladipo and Lemos, 2025).
This working paper explores insights from two I-REACCH participatory workshops on research culture, held at the University of Leicester in June 2025 and January 2026. The workshops brought together researchers, professional services staff, and research culture practitioners to reflect on collaborative approaches, barriers and enablers, and the long-term sustainability of research culture change in higher education. Discussions were structured around guided questions and visual prompts to support collaborative reflection.
Across the two sessions, participants explored collaboration as a mechanism for change, the structural and cultural barriers shaping research environments, the conditions required to sustain change over time, and the impact of wider sector pressures.
The findings highlight that while there is strong commitment and emerging good practice, sustaining change requires clearer structures, recognition, and continuity. I-REACCH is supporting a series of activities to begin to address these challenges.
An open-access course that teaches the foundations of advocacy and organisational change to researchers, research software engineers, and research technical professionals, structured around the UNICEF five-step advocacy cycle.
K. Pringle, Lorna Smith, Erinma Ochu et al.· 0 citations
This case study examines how student-staff partnerships and co-creation can transform student belonging by evaluating and improving support in higher education. The case study reflects upon the development of the ABC Toolkit, created collaboratively and guides improvements to support practices throughout the student journey. Three pillars—Academic Anchoring, Belonging and Well-being, and Co-creation and Communication—provide practical methods for creating inclusive, timely, and student-centered interventions that strengthen belonging and institutional responsiveness. Recognizing students as experts in their own experiences, the project incorporated a student partner as an equal member of the research team. Based on partnership models, the study shows how collaborative evaluation fosters inclusive, responsive support and empowers both staff and students Co-creation enhances team dynamics, research outcomes, and shared ownership . Based at a United Kingdom university, the findings offer insights relevant internationally, especially for diversity and inclusion challenges. The study contributes to Students-as-Partners literature by demonstrating how authentic partnerships can improve institutional culture, student engagement, and educational equity.
R. Parker-Strak, R. Studd, Thomas Pierce-Jones· International Journal for St...· 0 citations
This study aims to discuss the problems with EFL teachers' research involvement in Western universities in China. The study was qualitative and a case study that involved nine EFL teachers in semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The results showed that teachers' research activities were limited by the following barriers: at the individual level, teachers suffered from decreased research efficacy, research ability bottlenecks, and physical and mental exhaustion. On a community level, the research communities were underdeveloped and provided little mentoring and collaboration. Research resources, research management dilemmas, and a lack of time for continuous research were experienced at the organizational structural level by the teachers. At the socio-cultural level, tensions between disciplinary culture and the output-oriented culture of research evaluation limited meaningful engagement. The study provides insights into the multi-level and context-sensitive nature of research engagement and provides the practical implications for the improvement of EFL teachers' research development in under-resourced higher education environments.
Mingya Zhang, Fahainis Bt Mohd Yusof· Journal of Curriculum and Te...· 0 citations
The Transformer project at TU Wien exemplifies how universities can act as initiators for sustainability education and STEM science communication. Addressing the urgent need for climate change adaptation and the strengthening of key competencies for sustainability, this paper examines the university’s role in creating a temporary, participatory learning space. The Transformer bridges academic research and societal practice, demonstrating how higher education institutions can actively shape sustainable development. As both a knowledge producer and a facilitator of public dialogue, TU Wien designs the Transformer as a hands-on laboratory for children and adolescents, providing low-threshold access to STEM and sustainability content. By integrating university students and researchers from architecture, civil and environmental engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, informatics, and technical chemistry, the project transforms abstract scientific concepts into tangible, co-created solutions. This approach is designed to foster systemic thinking, practical skills, and participant agency—outcomes for which this paper presents documented but preliminary evidence—while enriching academic teaching and research through real-world applications. This paper analyses how TU Wien’s commitment to interdisciplinary cooperation and participatory science communication positions the Transformer as a model for other institutions, with a focus on circular economy as the anchor theme. Through reflective practice on four analytical dimensions—place-based learning, staged sustainability education, co-creative STEM communication, and the engaged university—this study offers insights into the challenges and opportunities of university-led co-creation spaces and considerations for institutions seeking to develop comparable initiatives.
Bianca Köck, Ines Kirchengast, Alexander Pichlhöfer et al.· Education sciences· 0 citations
Higher education institutions are increasingly challenged to strengthen research, innovation, and service extension amid rapid technological, societal, and policy changes, highlighting the need for future-oriented professional development. This study aimed to develop a Strategic Foresight Framework for Continuous Professional Training in Research, Innovation, and Service Extension (RISE) through a qualitative grounded theory approach. Thirty-five participants comprising faculty members, researchers, extension practitioners, and academic administrators were purposively selected from higher education institutions. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, document analysis, and field observations and analyzed using the constant comparative method involving open, axial, and selective coding. The findings revealed four interrelated themes: (1) Navigating Professional Growth Amid Emerging Institutional and Societal Demands; (2) Strategic Foresight as a Catalyst for Future-Ready Professional Practice; (3) Building Sustainable Professional Training through Collaborative and Adaptive Systems; and (4) the Emergence of the Strategic Foresight-Driven Continuous Professional Training Theory. The substantive theory explains that sustainable professional capacity develops through four interconnected processes: environmental intelligence, strategic capacity building, collaborative knowledge integration, and adaptive institutional transformation, supported by strategic foresight as the core organizational capability. These processes informed the development of the proposed Strategic Foresight Framework for Continuous Professional Training in Research, Innovation, and Service Extension (RISE), which provides an evidence-based guide for designing future-oriented professional development policies and institutional capacity-building initiatives. The study contributes to the literature by advancing a grounded theoretical framework that integrates strategic foresight with continuous professional learning, organizational resilience, and institutional transformation, offering practical implications for higher education institutions seeking to strengthen research productivity, innovation performance, extension effectiveness, and long-term sustainability.
Resty Samosa Jie Anne E. Amistoso Rona B. Quiton Marion, Eliza Mae R. Samosa· Bamboo Nexus: Journal of Inn...· 0 citations
Increasing attention has been given to strengthening educational practice through the use of research evidence. However, the relationship between educational research and school practice remains fragmented, particularly regarding how school–university partnerships (SUPs) support teachers’ engagement with evidence and their role as epistemic agents. The aim of this study is to identify the characteristics of collaboration models between schools and universities that shape different forms of teachers’ engagement with research and the collaborative development of professional knowledge. Following the PRISMA protocol, 20 studies published between 2020 and 2025 were selected from Web of Science, Scopus, and ERIC and analysed to address four research questions on the objectives, actors, organisational dynamics, and reported impacts of SUPs. Based on the analysis, the study proposes three distinct configurations for examining the relationship between SUPs, research utilisation, and teachers’ epistemic agency: an approach to teacher training, an approach to fostering informed professionals, and an approach centred on the co-creation of knowledge. These configurations reflect different levels of teachers’ epistemic agency and vary according to the organisational conditions that support evidence use. The study offers an analytical framework for understanding the potential and limitations of SUPs in strengthening research-informed practices and for guiding future collaborative initiatives.
J. Espinosa-Rodríguez, Diego Ignacio Caro-Rojas, Georgeta Ion· Education sciences· 0 citations