The University of Surrey is a global university, renowned for the outstanding quality and impact of its graduates and research, as well as its collective contribution to society.
Since the University’s founding in the 1960s out of origins that can be traced back to 1894, its community has thrived on strong connections and collaborations on campus and with the wider world.
Today, we remain true to those goals and have an ambitious strategic agenda to be in the top 100 universities in the world, generating knowledge, educating change-makers, and influencing practice beyond our boundaries for a better society and planet.
Surrey is always looking for ways for its academics to engage with the public and show the relevance of research to the wider world. The Conversation will provide opportunities to do this.
Research with impact
Ground-breaking research at Surrey is bringing direct benefits to many spheres of life – helping industry to maintain its competitive edge and creating improvements in the areas of artificial intelligence, sustainability, health and life sciences, medicine, and space science.
The 2021 Research Excellence Framework reported that 89 per cent of our submitted research outputs are rated as world-leading or internationally excellent, while 94 per cent of our research is taking place in an environment conducive to producing world-leading or internationally excellent research in the future.
An international outlook
The University of Surrey is committed to being a world-leading, international university. Our goal is to work with international partners to tackle the global challenges we face. We actively explore opportunities for high-quality joint research with government, industry and charitable organisations.
As part of the University Global Partnership Network (UGPN), whose members include North Carolina State University and The University of São Paulo, we are engaged in a new approach to partnerships, focusing on deep engagement with a small number of institutions across the world.
The advent of spring is associated with the prospect of increased sunshine, warmer temperatures and longer days. However, the enthusiasm for the start of British Summer Time (BST) is tempered by the inevitable…
Chancellor George Osborne has unveiled his fourth budget. The blueprint for recovery includes wholesale changes to pensions and savings, attempts to boost business investment, new relief for the costs…
A 2% rise next year instead? You have my word.
Rui Vieira/PA
The government’s decision to reject the recommended 1% rise in NHS salaries has been met with “contempt” by the unions. The issue of public sector pay has become highly contentious, with each side arguing…
Tony Benn was ‘a signpost not a weathervane’.
Fiona Hanson/PA
Tony Benn, who has died aged 88, was one of the great characters in 20th-century British politics. When he announced in 2001 he was “leaving Parliament to spend more time on politics” it was widely held…
Bins. bins, good for your budget …
Paul Faith/PA Wire
Public sector procurement isn’t sexy, but it is important. Government purchases approximately £120 billion worth of goods and services from third parties every year. That’s more than £4,000 per UK income…
After 25 years, it’s getting a bit dusty in there.
Arrqh
Most people would agree with the principle that good foundations are essential to any structure that is intended to last. But what if when you started building, you didn’t envisage how large, complex or…
Members were among ‘few working class people who have still got well paid jobs’.
Lewis Whyld/PA
Bob Crow, the pugnacious General Secretary of the Rail Maritime and Transport Workers Union (RMT), has died at the age of 52 after suffering an aneurysm and a massive heart attack. His passing has brought…
2014 has been dubbed the Year of Reading Women. This was a response to 2013 figures that showed a huge imbalance between the way male and female authors are treated in reviews. The nominees for the inaugural…
A few months ago I attended a debate at the Barbican in London on the pros and cons of international aid and the debate veered into one of individual autonomy and the problems caused by state intervention…
Command and control: Vladimir Putin is calling the shots.
EPA/Alexey Druzhinyn/Ria Novosti/Kremlin Pool
As talks stall between US and Russia in the ongoing crisis over Ukraine, Russia – written off by so many just two weeks ago as “humiliated” and “at a loss” – now appears to be in control of the situation…
Brother, can you spare a dime?
Dan Kitwood/PA Wire
After numerous dispatch box jibes at David Cameron about the Conservatives being bank-rolled by rich individuals, it appears that Ed Miliband is now having to do the same. Last week it was David Owen pledging…
Balancing act: Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness speaks as First Minister Peter Robinson looks on.
Paul Faith/PA
Northern Ireland’s first minister, Peter Robinson, threatened to resign over the issue of secret pardons granted to IRA fugitives, referred to as “on the runs” (OTRs), during the negotiation of the Good…
Catching badgers to vaccinate them requires effort.
Andrew Milligan/PA
Bovine tuberculosis (TB) is the biggest threat to the livestock industry in England and Wales. At present, bovine TB is still not under control in parts of these countries, and there is no single measure…
The Mt Gox Bitcoin exchange, the most high-profile market for the online currency, has suspended trading on its systems. It shut down on 24 February after noticing “unusual activity” and is yet to reopen…
What’s worse than an enemy with a gun? An enemy with malicious code.
Niall Carson/PA Archive/Press Association Images
South Korea has made a suprisingly public announcement that it plans to develop cyber-weapons for potential use against North Korea. The decision to make its plans known is baffling and the potential consequences…
Tired: all sides are hoping for an end to violence in Ukraine.
Ilya Varlamov
Ukraine’s problems have come to a head over the past week as the violence has escalated in Kiev and other major cities. When security forces began using live ammunition against protesters in Independence…
Revelations of fraudulent practices allowing bogus students to obtain visas to study in the UK have been received with shock and disbelief by English language teachers. An investigation by BBC’s Panorama…
A genetic predisposition to weight gain and obesity in later life can in part be explained by a lack of feeling full after eating, according to a new study in JAMA Paediatrics. Although there has been…
The drop in applications to European language programmes at UK universities will not have come as a great shock to anybody teaching languages. For at least the past 15 years, the number of students applying…
This could be the riskiest move of Ed Miliband’s career. After months of posturing about the changes in the relationship between the Labour Party and the unions, Miliband has clearly set out his plans…