18–22 May 2026 | Across all campuses and online
Running from 18–22 May 2026, Research Culture Week brings together colleagues from across disciplines, roles and campuses to explore what research culture looks like at the University of Greenwich. The week celebrates research activity, acknowledges emerging trends, and opens up space for conversation about what could develop next.
The programme
You can check this link to access the full programme, and colleagues are encouraged to save the dates and look out for opportunities to join events throughout the week.
Who is Research Culture Week for?
Research Culture Week has both an internal and external audience, reflecting its dual purpose of connection and visibility.
Internally, the week is an opportunity for colleagues across faculties and directorates to:
- discover and better understand each other’s research, practices and priorities,
- connect areas of work that have previously operated in silos,
- and contribute to a more holistic, university-wide approach to how research is supported, shared and developed.
It is open to all staff and students involved in, or supporting, research — including academic staff, researchers at all career stages, professional services colleagues, technicians, undergraduate and postgraduate students and those who are research-curious.
Externally, selected events are open to partners, collaborators and wider audiences.
This includes activity aligned with public engagement initiatives such as Pint of Science, creating opportunities to:
- share Greenwich research beyond the university,
- strengthen partnerships across sectors,
- contribute to wider public conversations about research and its impact.
What is Research Culture Week about?
Research Culture Week is not a traditional conference or showcase. Instead, it is an invitation to step back and reflect on the environments, practices and relationships that shape research at Greenwich.
Across the week, sessions will explore:
- how researchers at different career stages experience research culture,
- how collaboration, partnership and engagement shape research in practice,
- how issues such as equality, wellbeing, care, time and confidence play out across the research lifecycle,
- and how support structures, initiatives and networks help (or sometimes hinder) research in real life.
Taken together, these conversations are intended to create space that is often missing in day‑to‑day academic life: time to pause, reflect and connect across roles and disciplines. Research Culture Week recognises the often-unseen work that sustains research, surfaces shared challenges as well as strengths, and opens conversations that can continue well beyond a single week. The programme is informed by the VITAE Research Culture Framework, which is being used as a lens to organise sessions around people, practices, collaboration and impact, without relying on framework language.
What will the programme include?
Confirmed sessions include:
- People & Development
Conversations on supporting researchers across the career lifecycle including postgraduate research, early- and mid‑career development, technician roles, wellbeing, and inclusive research practices. - Research Practices & Environment
Reflective sessions looking at how research is done day‑to‑day at Greenwich, including integrity, ethics, open research, funding, management systems and how institutional frameworks shape research culture. - Collaboration, Engagement & Impact
Events exploring partnership, innovation and real‑world impact, including perspectives from research centres, enterprise and knowledge exchange, and collaborative initiatives working beyond academia. - Research Culture Week panels & discussions
Sessions deliberately framed as conversations rather than formal presentations sharing learning, challenges and “work in progress”, not just finished outputs.
A number of sessions will be online, making them accessible across campuses and to colleagues working flexibly, while others will be hosted in person across Greenwich, Avery Hill and Medway. Research Culture Week is open to all staff involved in or supporting research at Greenwich, with a small number of sessions also welcoming external partners and collaborators where appropriate.
What you can do now
- Save the dates: 18–22 May 2026
- Check out the full programme - access programme here
- Join an event - whether you’re research‑active, research‑supporting, or research‑curious
Research Culture Week and Pint of Science: A shared ethos
Research Culture Week takes place in the same week as Pint of Science, the international festival that brings research into informal, accessible spaces and invites wider public conversation.
Several University of Greenwich researchers are involved in Pint of Science events across Kent and London during the same week, and the ethos of openness, curiosity and conversation strongly overlaps.
Colleagues interested in engaging are encouraged to explore the Pint of Science programme, running in parallel, as part of this broader celebration of knowledge, ideas and dialogue.
Explore Pint of Science events: Home | Pint of Science
