At the University of Oxford’s Green Impact and LEAF end-of-year showcase and celebration on the 9 July 2024, the School of Geography and the Environment earned Gold accreditation in the Green Impact awards for the second time and Silver accreditation for our Geolabs in the LEAF (Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework) scheme.
News
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Avoidable deaths have increased: the damning data political parties aren’t discussing
One question that British voters may have asked themselves during the 2024 election campaign is whether they are any better off now than they were in 2010 when the Conservative-led coalition came to power. A recent poll reveals that most Britons (73%) think they are not. In The Conversation, Lucinda Hiam and Danny Dorling in the School of Geography and the Environment, delve deeper into avoidable deaths in the UK.
![Lubasi Limweta presents his dissertation research to the President of Zambia.](/sites/default/files/styles/standard_mobile/public/2024-07/website_feature_box_size_10.png?itok=M9YSsn1q)
Master's Dissertation by Lubasi Limweta Recognised by Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema
MSc student in Water Science, Policy, and Management, Lubasi Limweta, from the University of Oxford, received high recognition from the President of Zambia, H.E. Hakainde Hichilema, during the "Zambia at 60 Conference - Standing up for Zambia" event held at the Saïd Business School on 21st June 2024."
Oxford-led consortium wins £18 million in renewed funding for doctoral studentships
A consortium led by the University of Oxford has won over £18 million in expanded funding for doctoral and masters-to-doctoral studentships in the social sciences. The funding, awarded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), will support the recommissioned Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) which includes the School of Geography and the Environment.
![Image: Skowron / Adobe Stock](/sites/default/files/styles/standard_mobile/public/2023-11/231107-oxford-consortium-doctoral-studentships_adobestock_128413047.webp?itok=_8oSF4Md)
BBC Countryfile investigates at Oxford's Wytham Woods
BBC's Countryfile visited scientists from Oxford's Environmental Change Institute (ECI), at the University-owned Wytham Woods, to learn about the threat of ash dieback and the work at the site of special scientific interest - known as one of the most researched woodlands in the world.
![Professor Yadvinder Malhi (right) with the BBC Countryfile team, including presenters Hamza Yassin and Ellie Harrison, in front of the Flux Tower in Wytham Woods.](/sites/default/files/styles/standard_mobile/public/2023-11/231103-bbc-countryfile-wytham.webp?itok=LzaFICij)
New training centre will bridge the gap between environmental science and AI to address global environmental challenges
Backed by over £15 million funding, the University of Oxford is establishing a new Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) that will combine the university's strengths in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, Big Data, and environmental sciences. Over an initial eight years, The UKRI AI Centre for Doctoral Training in AI for the Environment (The Intelligent Earth Centre) - whose leadership team includes Prof Louise Slater, Professor of Hydroclimatology at SoGE - will train almost 100 PhD students to develop and apply cutting-edge AI technologies to tackle urgent environmental crises.
![Image: Philip Stier / NASA](/sites/default/files/styles/standard_mobile/public/2023-10/231031-new-cdt-intelligent-earth-philip-stier-nasa.webp?itok=wKEQxYon)
Child poverty: Could Wales cut rates by copying Scotland?
Introducing a weekly child payment system for poor families would be "transformational", according to Wales' children's commissioner. Prof Danny Dorling provides expert analysis in a recent BBC News article, discussing how the Scottish system has had a substantial effect on child poverty.
![Image: Studio Romantic / Adobe Stock](/sites/default/files/styles/standard_mobile/public/2023-11/231029-dorling-wales-child-poverty_adobestock_328445123.webp?itok=7nUZ1Lm6)
The ins and outs of writing an MSc Dissertation at SoGE
Writing a capstone dissertation is one of the most significant and (hopefully) rewarding aspects of completing a master's course here at SoGE. It's a daunting and almost mythical assignment that has both excited and terrified cohorts of MSc students for generations. Because the dissertation is arguably the most important aspect of a SoGE master's degree, many incoming graduate students will arrive with many pressing questions about what exactly writing a dissertation at Oxford is like. Emma Schneck, current MSc student, provides a brief guide on what to expect.
![Image: kenchiro168 / Adobe Stock](/sites/default/files/styles/standard_mobile/public/2023-10/231026-writing-msc-dissertation-soge_618554410.webp?itok=e9JglP1A)
Storm Babet caused dangerous floods as the 'dry side' of Scotland isn't used to such torrential rain
Dr Linda Speight explores, in an article for The Conversation, why Storm Babet caused dangerous flooding in Scotland and explains how hydrologists are able to to use their knowledge of how water moves across and through the landscape and computer models to help forecasters identify where the biggest floods will be.
![Image: Photo by Raphael Rychetsky on Unsplash](/sites/default/files/styles/standard_mobile/public/2023-10/231020-speight-storm-babet-conversation-raphael-rychetsky-ouexkn16zg0-unsplash.webp?itok=OVRuMGvg)
A Global Resilience Index: Supporting climate adaptation of global infrastructure systems
A new Global Resilience Index, developed by researchers at the Environmental Change Institute, is helping policy makers understand climate risks to global infrastructure systems and plan appropriate investments and interventions.
![Global Resilience Index](/sites/default/files/styles/standard_mobile/public/2023-11/231019-hall-global-resilience-index.webp?itok=0GMaiYfY)
Conservation Comes Full Circle: A Master's Field Course in Tenerife, Spain
Raphaella Mascia, postgraduate student on the MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation, and Management (BCM) course, recounts her experience on the Tenerife field trip and the importance of positive conservation outcomes.
![Image: Raphaella Mascia](/sites/default/files/styles/standard_mobile/public/2023-10/231011-conservation-comes-full-circle.webp?itok=Uwi7sVVt)
Lucas Evans wins RGS-IBG Digital Geographies Research Group undergraduate dissertation prize
Congratulations to Lucas Evans who has been named as the winner of RGS-IBG Digital Geographies Research Group's 2023 undergraduate dissertation prize. Lucas recently graduated from the BA in Geography course at the University of Oxford's School of Geography and the Environment (SoGE).
![Lucas Evans](/sites/default/files/styles/standard_mobile/public/2023-10/231004-lucas-evans-rgs-prize.webp?itok=shWaPjeB)
SoGE academics' accomplishments recognised with professorial titles
Two academic members at the School of Geography and the Environment (SoGE) have been awarded the title of Professor by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Oxford, in recognition of their outstanding contributions to their fields of research, teaching and academic service. Congratulations to Louise Slater, Professor of Hydroclimatology, and Christian Brand, Professor of Transport, Energy and Climate Change, on this richly deserved achievement.
![Professors Louise Slater and Christian Brand](/sites/default/files/styles/standard_mobile/public/2023-10/231003-slater-brand-professors.webp?itok=wGRcFiWE)