Dr Laura Carter’s research has found hazardous traces of chemicals in plants, soil and water from Yorkshire to remote rivers in Nepal. Now she’s creating an international network of academics, industry and regulators to pool knowledge and draw up frameworks so we can better manage such pollution crises across the world.

The desire to make a difference sits at the very heart of the University of Leeds’s new ten-year strategy. Its ambition is to train the next generation of global citizens and leaders – educating the problem solvers, innovators, collaborators and critical thinkers who can tackle the big issues. Richard Tunstall explains how connecting students to real-world experiences opens up their confidence as active problem solvers, and provides communities with a creative resource.

A new project at the University of Leeds is seeking to boost the recognition and celebration of learning disabled artists. Working closely with Leeds-based disability art studio Pyramid, it’s investigating ways to better support their professional artistic development. Lead researcher Jade French outlines the innovative and experimental ways the project brings together the worlds of arts practice and social care support.

Digital transformation is at the heart of the University of Leeds’ vision for the next ten years. This transformation will enhance students’ learning and enrich research activity, as well as improve the University’s own institutional operations. Leeds’ ambition is to use digital technologies and approaches to fulfil its desire to be a university that makes a difference.

However, digital transformation begins not with technology but with people, Leah Henrickson argues. She explains what makes us ‘digitally literate’ and how digital literacy helps us get the most from the digital in our lives.

For students and staff to thrive at university and beyond, we need a campus culture where everyone feels they belong. This is about how we teach as much as what we teach. Bridgette Bewick explores how her conversations with students and staff are helping the University of Leeds become a compassionate campus.

A university experience based on compassion and collaboration will give today’s students a fighting chance of solving tomorrow’s challenges, she argues – and help us all move to a more inclusive, diverse and equitable future.

When Jasjit Singh was researching media portrayals of British Sikhs, he wanted to make sure his research was a true representation of the people whose lives he was talking about. Working with the community then gave him the authority to take the findings forward to influence national and international policy.

Here, he reflects on how universities can raise the profile of ‘hardly reached’ communities.

By explaining how research works and embedding open dialogue in their projects, academics can make sure their work is relevant – and that it will make a real difference to society.

In this World changers episode, Vice-Chancellor Simone Buitendijk speaks to Dr Bronwen Swinnerton.

Digital technology is often promised as the key to widening participation in university education for more students. But such technology isn’t neutral, and not all learners have the same access to it. Bronwen Swinnerton has been looking at how the ‘digital divide’ affects students in the UK and across the world. And she describes how the University of Leeds’ mission to tackle such inequalities is starting right at home.

In this World changers episode, Vice-Chancellor Simone Buitendijk speaks to Dr Jessica Mitchell.

Infections that would have quickly killed us a hundred years ago are rarely a cause for concern nowadays. Antimicrobials protect us from infections caused by microbes such as bacteria, fungi and viruses.

But the speed at which microbes are becoming resistant to these drugs is accelerating rapidly. What will happen if the drugs stop working?

Dr Jessica Mitchell is exploring effective ways for our communities – global, national, and local – to come together and respond.

In this World changers episode, Vice-Chancellor Simone Buitendijk speaks to Dr Lucy Ziegler.

Lucy Ziegler’s research in oncology took on a very personal significance when her own mother died of breast cancer. Her personal loss and passion for her research made her determined to improve the way we care for those nearing the end of their lives.

Her research contributed to a landmark breakthrough when St Gemma’s became the world’s first University Teaching Hospice. Now its work not only serves the local Leeds community but also helps reduce inequalities in palliative care across the world.

What is the purpose of a university education, particularly in an age of life-long learning?

In the latest episode of the 'Changing the World' series, University of Leeds Vice-Chancellor Professor Simone Buitendijk and Deputy Director of Communications Fridey Cordingley discuss how, for some students and academics, university education is still viewed as the transmission of facts, and assessments to test whether those facts had been learned. The problem with that, Simone argues, is most people do not retain facts. And employers want a different set of skills. They are after people who can work in a team and can collaborate and we need to teach our students that learning never stops.

The solution, she believes, is to train students to acquire knowledge but also to solve problems, through a process of active learning, getting students to actively engage with a subject to really learn.

Follow Professor Simone Buitendijk on Twitter @SEBuitendijk, and follow University of Leeds at @UniversityLeeds

To read more voices from the University of Leeds, visit our Medium publication and University's website.

Recorded in March 2021, their wide-reaching conversation looks at Simone’s journey to becoming the University of Leeds’ first female Vice-Chancellor, leading the organisation during the Covid crisis, the experiences of younger academics.

They ask what is the true goal of universities - and should it be measured solely by academic output?

 Follow Professor Simone Buitendijk on Twitter here, and follow University of Leeds by clicking here.

To read more from the University of Leeds, visit its Medium publication here, and the University's website here.

We all experience conflict in many areas of our lives - and at universities, debate and disagreements are part of the academic experience. Simone and Fridey discuss their personal responses to conflict - and how it's possible to embrace conflict to make sure it ultimately resolves problems in a constructive and collaborative way.

Follow Professor Simone Buitendijk on Twitter here, and follow University of Leeds by clicking here.

To read more voices from the University of Leeds, visit our Medium publication here, and the University's website here.

The short answer is: a lot. In this podcast from the University of Leeds, Vice-Chancellor Professor Simone Buitendijk discusses perfectionism with Alexandra Holloway, a Teaching Fellow in the Language Centre and Dr Alex Ding, an Associate Professor in English for Academic Purposes. Each discusses their own experiences with perfectionism, and the impact the concept has had on their careers, personal life and mental health.

Much has been written in recent years about values-based organisations, and the potential they have of uniting and motivating employees. But what about a University? What are the implications for staff, students - and importantly the work we do, through research, to make the world a better place? We’ll be discussing all of this with Simone. 

Follow Professor Simone Buitendijk on Twitter here, and follow University of Leeds by clicking here.

To read more voices from the University of Leeds, visit our Medium publication here, and the University's website here.

In this episode, we'll hear the thoughts and questions from readers since the blog was first published, and delve deeper into why Simone was keen to raise this topic now.

Follow Professor Simone Buitendijk on Twitter here, and follow University of Leeds by clicking here.

To read more voices from the University of Leeds, visit our Medium publication here, and the University's website here.