The power and potential of collaborative research focused on sustainable development has been showcased and discussed at a landmark two-day event at the University of Exeter.
The 2026 Environmental Sustainability and Resilience (ENSURE) Joint Centre Workshop drew together senior leaders, scholars and strategic partners to celebrate the scale of research underway between Exeter and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).
Hosted at the Living Systems Institute and XFi on the Streatham campus, the two-day event represented one of the most significant gatherings of the two academic communities since the ENSURE partnership was launched in 2018.
The programme, opened by Professor Richard Follett, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice President (Global) at Exeter, featured keynote plenaries, thematic panel discussions and networking sessions designed to strengthen collaboration across disciplines, including climate science, biodiversity, energy systems, and food and water security.
"Through the ENSURE Joint Centre, the University of Exeter, together with CUHK, are demonstrating our commitment to putting world-leading environmental research into practice to achieve real solutions for human health, mitigation against climate change, food, water and energy and more," said Professor Follett. "Our key objective is to engage the public, industry and policy with innovative approaches to resilient environmental challenges, both global and local in nature.
"The projects and the students that we support through ENSURE are closely aligned with both Exeter's and CUHK's commitments to place the SDGs at the core of our research agenda and align with Exeter's strategic vision to make the world greener, healthier, and fairer."
Under the theme Global Systems for Sustainable Futures: Designing Resilience for the SDGs, the event demonstrated how ENSURE's research portfolio is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This included, on day one, a presentation on a major collaborative research initiative, the next-generation of probiotics for marine bivalve aquaculture, delivered by Professor Haiwei Luo (CUHK) and Dr Robert Ellis (Exeter).
A series of panels followed, each structured around ENSURE's six Grand Challenges, which address areas aligned with the UN SDGs, including ecosystem-based solutions, sustainable energy systems, biodiversity resilience, climate extremes forecasting, and behavioural change in the food-water-energy nexus.
Among the speakers were leading academics from both institutions, including Professor Lucy Rowland, Professor Benoit Thibodeau, Professor Jean-François Mercure and Professor Ye Chen, alongside contributions from Professor Apple Chui, Professor Jennifer Catto, Professor Francis Tam and Professor Stephen Sitch. Discussions emphasised the importance of integrated, systems-based approaches to address global environmental challenges.
The programme also highlighted applied sustainability efforts, with Jo Chamberlain, Director of Sustainability, presenting Exeter's Streatham Campus as a living laboratory for sustainability innovation.
Day two featured a plenary address from Professor Peter Cox, Director of the Global Systems Institute, and showcased ENSURE's commitment to developing future research leaders through its PhD-engaged projects.
Among the presentations included research on glacier change and water security in High Mountain Asia, and interdisciplinary work on nature-based solutions that link climate, air quality and public health outcomes. There were also sessions focused on funding opportunities, business engagement and best practice in delivering impactful environmental research, culminating in closing remarks from Professor Mai Har Sham, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Vice President (Research) at CUHK.
"It has been a delight to host our colleagues and friends from CUHK," said Professor Sitch, Co-Director of ENSURE. "We brought together experts from both universities to brainstorm on some of the societies' grand challenges for this century, and to share good practice.
"It was great to learn more on the significant progress from our joint funded CUHK-Exeter projects and hear from our enthusiastic Early Career Scientists as they embark on their post graduate studies with ENSURE."
