Accomplished HKBU researchers embrace “Research Mingle – Get Ready for RAE 2026”
Our prominent HKBU researchers from diversified disciplines gathered and were delighted by the sharing of the three distinguished speakers in the captioned event on November 23, 2023. The speakers generously shared strategic tips for preparing for Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2026. They were Professor Crispin Coombs, Associate Dean for Research and Innovation and Professor of Information Systems from Loughborough Business School, Professor David Parker, Chair Professor in Chemistry of the HKBU Faculty of Science, and Ms Laura Tucker, Chief Executive Officer of Hivve (formerly Vertigo Ventures; a leader in verified impact data). Professor Kenneth Paul Tan adeptly coordinated the event from the School of Communication, who served as the MC.
“You’re not passive in this. You have your knowledge to bring it to them,” said Professor Coombs, who encouraged researchers to leverage their substantial experience in different aspects to prepare their research outputs for RAE 2026. That was just one of his tips for RAE 2026, and he reflected on the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021.
“Teamwork makes impact cases work, not individuals,” Professor Parker added to the strategic tips provided by Professor Coombs, and emphasised the significance of collective efforts in the RAE preparation. Professor Parker also highlighted his insight that a paper’s scientific content is more important than publication metrics or the identity of the journal in which the paper was published.
As the third speaker, Ms Tucker recommended researchers start thinking of the research impact evidence and take the necessary actions for RAE 2026, “There are 18 months left. Now it’s the last stretch of time to maximise your research significance.” She initiated major recommendations with the keywords: engagement, pipeline, support, refine, evidence and timeline.
Following the informative presentations, the speakers participated as panellists in the discussion session, which was moderated by Dr Snow Wang from the Research Office. Everyone was excited to engage in enlightening conversations on specialised topics such as the most effective and least effective types of evidence to substantiate research impact, and the influence of RAE on individual Faculty members/researchers. The panellists' extra sharing of more impact cases and their methods of evaluating proposals were highly valued.
Delighted by the sense of humour of both the speakers and participants, all remained fully engaged throughout the event. The gathering concluded on a joyful note with a cozy mingling session, accompanied by tasty beverages and desserts.
For more upcoming events of this new series, please stay tuned to our event page. Discover more exciting research news, events and stories of our talented HKBU researchers on our LinkedIn page.
