Our REF submission
The recruitment of talented researchers during the REF 2021 period has allowed us to bring fresh thinking to a group of staff rich in industry experience and partnership working, and to build the impact of our work. We have grown our research active staff base and hence the volume of research in the Built Environment since REF 2014, and the growth in our doctoral student population has driven a more than three-fold increase in the number of PhDs awarded.
Our submission to this unit of assessment featured contributions from 12 people, 29 outputs, and two impact case studies:
- Financial and efficiency improvements from socio-technical digitalisation of costing and procurement in the built environment.
- Integrated landscapes: seeing the bigger picture.
This area of our work also saw 13 doctoral awards and £1.1m research income during the REF 2021 period.
Please note that research from staff in the Birmingham School of Architecture and Design is returned to UoA 32, Art and Design.
Our research
Research in Engineering is supported within the School of Engineering and Built Environment, housed in our Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Built Environment. Research undertaken by our staff is fully embedded within our taught programmes for our undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Our Department of Built Environment is an established centre for research in the built environment and planning, with specialisms in placemaking, construction and environmental sustainability. Cross-disciplinary collaboration with colleagues in the Birmingham School of Architecture and Design is also common.
Much of the research undertaken in Built Environment is applied research collaborative with end-users, including Highways England and UK Government Agencies.
