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Returning to UCL after many years has been fascinating. The university has evolved significantly since my time as a student, and stepping into the role of a staff member has brought a fresh perspective. Despite the changes, some elements remain the same:

• Passion for Public Service: There’s a strong sense of dedication to societal good, permeating much of what we do.
• Values Driven: UCL continues to be open, friendly, and inclusive, though there is always room to do more to support underrepresented groups.
• Impressive Academics: The faculty is as inspiring as ever, with academics I remember from my student days still making a significant impact.

There have also been many revelations for me about the scale and impact of what we do here, and strengths on which the Grand Challenges programme can build. Here are a few examples:

• Innovation Activity: UCL's innovation landscape is remarkable, with annual spinout fundraising around £500m and supporting over 500 student enterprises employing thousands.
• Research Intensive: UCL is the largest research funder in the UK after UK Research & Innovation (UKRI), attracting numerous researchers and partners across a diverse range of disciplines and fields.
• Grand Challenges Community: There is a vibrant network of nearly 1,000 researchers working on interdisciplinary research, driven by the Grand Challenges programme.
• Catalytic Funding Impact: Various people have commented to me that small, timely seed funding can catalyse as much impact and innovation as much larger grants.
• Internal and External Excitement: Events like the recent Build-a-Lab workshop on student-led social enterprise has captured significant interest and enthusiasm.

A final takeaway is the essential role of professional services teams like ours in engineering serendipity by connecting different parts of UCL and external organizations. We facilitate innovation, create networks, and deliver substantial funding, often working behind the scenes. Though it may not be glamorous, the work is immensely rewarding and impactful!

First Few Months at Grand Challenges
The initial months have been a whirlwind of introductions to academics and staff across UCL and beyond, deepening my understanding of the role’s challenges and opportunities. My focus has been on:

• Meeting Key People: Building relationships and understanding different perspectives (and looking forward to meeting those I haven't yet!).
• Establishing Programme Frameworks: Setting up governance and frameworks for the Grand Challenges programme.
• Learning and Adapting: Understanding what has worked and what lessons we can learn from UCL and elsewhere.
• Strategic Development: Collaborating with academic leads to develop strategies and five-year plans based on feedback from the UCL community.

Vision for the Future
The Grand Challenges programme has been a trailblazer over the past 15 years, embedding interdisciplinary research, generating societal impact, and forging new connections. UCL’s new Strategic Plan has reinforced this approach, increasing funding twentyfold over the next eight years and expanding our remit to influence UCL’s educational offerings and institutional operations.

We have the conditions for a step change in the Grand Challenges programme in terms of increasing our impact, raising our profile, and building deeper external partnerships. We want to maximise the positive impact of UCL’s research, education, and innovation to tackle the biggest societal problems. We plan to do this through:

• Funding mission-driven, interdisciplinary research that accelerates the pace and scale of change locally, nationally, and globallyÌý
• Supporting community-building, education & knowledge mobilisation, reaching new audiences & partners in engaging waysÌý
• Catalysing innovation, including piloting solutions to problems within UCL and our partners that can be scaled up

​​​We will measure success through the influence of our funded research; the extent to which we’ve equipped people to accelerate change through education and knowledge; the scale and impact of our innovations, and an enhanced reputation as a high-impact organization on societal challenges.

Moreover, we aim to positively transform UCL itself into a more impact-focused, outward-looking, agile, and interdisciplinary leader. Our programme theory of change below outlines how we see the components coming together to achieve these goals.Ìý

We welcome ongoing dialogue and collaboration with anyone interested in our mission. Let's continue to engineer serendipity and evolve the Grand Challenges together.

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