THE Connect

THE Connect: Amplifying children's voices in policymaking

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with Queen's University Belfsat, host Ashton Wenborn speaks with Laura Lundy, professor of children’s rights and co-director of the Centre for Children’s Rights at Queen’s University Belfast, and Deirdre Reidy, assistant principal officer of the Participation, Play and Recreation Unit in the Irish government’s Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.

They discuss why it's critical to listen to children's and young people's voices when making decisions that affect them, and how policymakers can better engage with children.

THE Connect: Uniting experts to tackle the climate crisis

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with the University of Liverpool, host Ashton Wenborn speaks with Katie Atkinson, associate pro vice-chancellor of the University of Liverpool and director of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Sustainability Research.

They discuss the centre's ambitious mission to tackle the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, exploring how it will foster collaboration among experts from diverse disciplines.

THE Connect: Clearing the air with sustainable aviation fuel

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with the University of Sheffield, host Ashton Wenborn speaks with Mohamed Pourkashanian, director of the Energy Innovation Centre at the University of Sheffield, Luke Ervine, head of sustainability at Virgin Atlantic, and Steve Gillard, regional sustainability director at Boeing.

They discuss the far-reaching benefits of sustainable aviation fuel, the impact of Flight 100 on the field, and the radical collaboration required to make sustainable aviation fuel a global success.

THE Connect: How AI is transforming patient care

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with Queen's University Belfast, host Ashton Wenborn speaks with Iain Styles, a professor in the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Queen’s University Belfast. Iain is also the director of the Centre of Intelligent Sustainable Computing.

They discuss the challenges of integrating AI into healthcare settings, ongoing debates about the ethics of AI in healthcare and engagement with local communities.

THE Connect: Bridging knowledge gaps and upskilling learners with sustainability education

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with the National University of Singapore, host Sreethu Sajeev speaks with Koh Lian Pin, associate vice-president and chief sustainability scientist at the National University of Singapore.

They discuss how sustainability education can be used to foster innovative solutions to pressing environmental and social challenges – upskilling learners in the process.

THE Connect: Transforming health outcomes with digital teachnologies

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with the University of Sheffield, host Ashton Wenborn speaks with Tim Chico, professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Sheffield.

They discuss the South Yorkshire Digital Health Hub, exploring the ways the hub uses cutting-edge research to develop digital technologies for disease diagnosis and treatment.

THE Connect: The University of Liverpool's Legacy at CERN

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with the University of Liverpool, host Ashton Wenborn speaks with Tara Shears, a professor of physics and frontier lead for particle physics, Monica D’Onofrio, professor of physics and head of research, and Christos Touramanis, a professor of experimental particle physics at the University of Liverpool.

They discuss the university's involvement in cutting-edge research and innovation at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research.

THE Connect: Rethinking approaches to terrorism and counterterrorism

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with Queen's University Belfast, host Ashton Wenborn speaks with Richard English, a professor of politics and director of the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice at Queen’s University Belfast.

They discuss how universities can contribute to analytical discussions on terrorism, replacing fear-driven narratives with research-backed solutions and perspectives.

THE Connect: Using AI to streamline dementia diagnosis

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with the University of Sheffield, host Ashton Wenborn speaks with Dan Blackburn, a senior lecturer in neuroscience, Heidi Christensen, professor in computer science, and Caitlin Illingworth, a neuroscience PhD student at the University of Sheffield.

They discuss their work on CognoSpeak, an online tool harnessing AI to analyse speech patterns and cognitive cues. CognoSpeak can identify subtle markers of cognitive decline that might be missed during routine evaluations, improving the dementia diagnosis experience for patients from all backgrounds.

THE Connect: Green politics and the cost of capitalist growth

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with Queen's University Belfast, host Ashton Wenborn speaks with John Barry, a professor of green political economy and director of the Queen’s Centre for Sustainability, Equality and Climate Action.

They discuss the ideologies that underpin green politics, the way it challenges capitalist growth models and the importance of radically rethinking widely accepted economic paradigms.

THE Connect: Collaborating to accelerate materials innovation

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with the University of Liverpool, host Ashton Wenborn speaks with Karl Coleman, dean of physical sciences, Gabriella Pizzuto, a Royal Academy of Engineering research fellow and lecturer in robotics and chemistry automation, and Alessandro Troisi, a professor of chemistry at the University of Liverpool.

They discuss the university's Materials Discovery Frontier, which brings together diverse disciplines and stakeholders to tackle global challenges and problems.

THE Connect: Streamlining collaboration across health and life sciences

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with the University of Liverpool, host Alistair Lawrence speaks with Shampa Das, professor of antimicrobial therapeutics, Reecha Sofat, Breckenridge chair of clinical pharmacology, and Paul O’Neill, professor of chemistry at the University of Liverpool.

They discuss the university's Therapeutics Innovation Frontier, a platform designed to deliver new therapies and improve existing ones for the benefit of patients locally, nationally and globally.

THE Connect: Interdisciplinary approaches to food security and climate change

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with Queen’s University Belfast, host Ashton Wenborn speaks with Aedín Cassidy, chair in nutrition and preventive medicine and director of interdisciplinary research at the Institute for Global Food Security, and Mark Emmerson, professor of biodiversity.

Queen’s University Belfast has been awarded £60 million of joint funding to establish two collaborative, cross-institutional co-centres: the Co-Centre for Sustainable and Resilient Food Systems and the Climate+ Co-Centre. Cassidy and Emmerson discuss how the co-centres will tackle the grand challenges of food sustainability and climate change, looking at why an interdisciplinary approach is so valuable.

THE Connect: Transforming healthcare with data-driven decision-making

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with Queen's University Belfast, host Ashton Wenborn speaks with Mark Lawler, associate pro vice-chancellor and professor of digital health, and Philip Dunne, reader in molecular pathology at the Patrick G. Johnston Centre for Cancer Research.

They discuss the growing availability of data in the healthcare sector and explore how this proliferation of information can empower clinicians to make data-driven decisions, elevating the patient experience and improving health outcomes. This data can also be used to spur policy change, acting as a force for positive transformation that’s backed by fact.

THE Connect: Delivering environmentally conscious education in the Philippines

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with the University of Santo Tomas, host Gitanjali Goswami speaks with Moises Norman Garcia and Maria Rosario Virginia Cobar, who are both professors and researchers in the university’s Department of Biological Sciences and the Research Center for Social Sciences and Education. Elfritzon Peralta, programme coordinator at the Organismic and Environmental Biology Cluster, also joins the conversation.

They discuss the University of Santo Tomas’ efforts to integrate environmental awareness into its academic programmes, institutional policies and initiatives, exploring the challenges and successes brought by taking an interdisciplinary approach to addressing the climate crisis

THE Connect: Pushing the frontiers of particle physics globally

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with the University of Liverpool, host Ashton Wenborn speaks with Joost Vossebeld, head of particle physics, Eva Vilella Figueras, UKRI Future Leader Fellow in the Department of Physics, and Graziano Venanzoni, Leverhulme International Professor of Physics.

They discuss the unique expertise and infrastructure that the University of Liverpool offers its researchers, allowing them to push the frontiers of particle physics to understand the deepest secrets of the universe.