The School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Glasgow proudly hosted a two-week long capacity strengthening workshop in the Adam Smith Building as part of the Centre for Sustainable, Healthy and Learning Cities and Neighbourhoods (SHLC) from 27 August to 5 September 2018

Over the course of two weeks more than 40 researchers and academics from 10 different countries attended 30 different workshops and training sessions on range of different topics including global urban policy, learning cities, healthy neighbourhoods, big data, virtual reality, research impact, policymaking, geographic information systems (GIS) and much more!

Professor Mike Osborne, Capacity Strengthening Lead for the SHLC said

‘SHLC in large part is about the strengthening the research capacity of researchers not only in the global south, but also in the UK. It is also about the creation of next generation researchers in the field of sustainable urban development. It is clearly evident that the participants learnt a lot, but also contributed much from which we can all learn. Our engagement with the citizens of Glasgow led to some very positive conversations, not least the suggestion of linking neighbourhoods in the city with those in the 14 cities we are studying in the global south. Contributions to the workshop from senior officials to the city confirmed the international perspective of the city, and its willingness to be a learning city. This is the start of a great journey for us all’.

Gail Wilson, SHLC’s Senior Business Manager said: 

'It was important to our project that we also provided a space for researchers to learn how to improve impact and engagement skills so that their research findings are heard and found by the right people at the right time. The highlight of the workshop for me was watching our virtual reality hackathon, I truly was transported to another world and hope we get to use this technology as part of our research! I also enjoyed getting out and about in the city to see some innovative examples of ‘sustainable neighbourhoods’ in Glasgow. Visiting a co-operative housing group in Possilpark and hearing from urban residents reminded me why our research matters – understanding neighbourhoods will truly help improve urban living'.

SHLC aims to enhance research capacity in developing countries and the UK through a series of capacity building activities and a joint cross-country comparative research project on sustainable, healthy and learning cities and neighbourhoods. This workshop was the first major training event, which brought all the research assistants and research fellows working on the project together for the first time. 

The aim of the workshop was to help develop essential research understanding and skills to help the team develop knowledge required to conduct SHLC research activities. But broader, and perhaps more importantly than that, the workshop also set out to build a network of urban researchers interested in urban, health and education challenges in fast growing developing country cities, to share their own unique knowledge and experiences and help them on their journey toward becoming next generation research leaders in this important subject area. 

SHLC is funded by the UK Government’s Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) and is administered through the Economic and Social Research Council.

Alongside the University of Glasgow, SHLC project partners include: University of Witswatersrand, Human Sciences Research Council, Ifakara Health Institute, University of Rwanda, Khulna University, National Institute of Urban Affairs, University of the Philippines Diliman and Nankai University.