Dear colleagues,   &²Ô²ú²õ±è;

As we head towards the Easter break, I want to repeat what I said at the start of this week’s : thank you for your commitment and effort throughout this term. 

Economic growth remains a big theme across local, national and global agendas, presenting both opportunities and implications for 51³Ô¹ÏÍø and the sector.  

Here in the UK, the current positive stance on science and research is encouraging, and we continue to positively influence and solidify these commitments, alongside our peers in the sector. 

Here at 51³Ô¹ÏÍø, I am proud the Mayor of London chose 51³Ô¹ÏÍø to host the last month, providing a great opportunity to highlight 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s positive economic impact. 

Further afield, we are closely watching the emerging pictures for the European Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (FP10), and changes in policies surrounding the US education sector. &²Ô²ú²õ±è;

And of course, 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s own growth is firmly on the agenda. As we look ahead to the summer term, we are preparing to launch 51³Ô¹ÏÍø Global India in May and the Schools of Convergence Science in June. We will discuss these in more detail in the coming months.

In this week’s In Conversation we heard from Professor George Constantinides, Director of the , Professor Jennifer Quint, Deputy Director of ECRI, and Dr Liz Elvidge, Associate Director of ECRI. They shared how the newly-formed centre will work to attract, develop, empower and advocate for early career researchers and talked us through some of the support provisions that will be available.  

I was also joined by Robert Kerse, Chief Operating Officer, and Emma Leeming, ERP Programme Director, who explained how the will transform our corporate systems. This includes the implementation of a new system that will replace ICIS. This is a major undertaking and will make a real difference to how we all work. We will keep you updated as this develops. This was discussed in greater detail at the recent Professional Services Discussion, which is .

My thanks to all the presenters and to Consul Professor Miriam Moffat for chairing the Q&A. We will follow up on themes raised in the session in a future Staff Briefing newsletter.  

The next In Conversation event will take place on Wednesday 30 April and will focus on corporate and HR-related topics, and I’ll be joined by Robert Kerse, Chief Operating Officer, and Kathryn Al-Shemmeri, Chief People Officer.  

In the meantime, there is a closure period for the Easter break. I hope you all manage to enjoy some rest and hopefully some sunshine and warmer weather.  

Best wishes, 

Hugh 

 &²Ô²ú²õ±è;

Professor Hugh Brady, President