About The Bridge at Hughes Hall
The Bridge initiative leverages the College’s multi-disciplinary perspective, international nature and external focus to bring the research and expertise of its academic community to solve real world problems. The Bridge facilitates interaction and connection between academic experts and policy-makers, practitioners and industry leaders to promote dialogue, understanding and innovation. It drives the translation of research and knowledge, turning brilliant ideas into lasting change, and equips our researchers to progress successfully in their future careers, whether in academia or the wider world.
Our aim is to change the world for the better and, in doing so, to earn a reputation as a dynamic institution which has a direct impact on our people, our partners, and our society – locally, nationally, and globally. We are working to equip future generations of graduates to transition from academia into their professional lives, making a positive contribution in their chosen sector and, ultimately, to contribute to making the world a better place. We want to support our academic body in applying their expertise to some of the world’s most pressing problems through collaboration and supported multi-disciplinary project platforms. We connect with research translation ecosystems and broker partnerships around the UK, and beyond, to ensure our solutions are relevant, practical, impactful, multi-faceted and of benefit to many; especially those in low and middle income countries. We aim to bring the expertise of Cambridge to the world; and enable Hughes Hall’s academic and student bodies to change the world for the better.
The Bridge at Hughes Hall connects academic experts with leaders in policy, practice and commerce, to turn ideas and expertise into lasting change, for the benefit of all. We do this in three ways:
Cultivating connections
The Bridge brokers connections amongst Hughes Hall’s and the University of Cambridge’s diverse academic community to support informed multi-disciplinary collaboration. We also connect our academics with external leaders in policy, practice and business environments for mutual benefit and to further our projects which aim to help wider society. We research knowledge transfer networks, nurturing relationships within the translation ecosystem in Cambridge and beyond. This work is about maximising our impact in addressing the world’s most pressing problems by nurturing a collaborative force for good consisting of leading practitioners, influential decision-makers and cutting-edge researchers.
Equipping our people
One component of The Bridge is preparing many of our current research community for life – and impact – beyond the college gates: in other research environments, business, policy-making, and practice. We aim to improve their understanding of the pathway from research into practice, helping them in learning transferrable skills, providing exposure to a range of professional environments and linking them with people whose skillsets and knowledge can drive their future success. We are developing a programme of opportunities, experiences, events and contacts to enable the development of relevant skills and expertise, and to provide a platform from which Hughes Hall’s researchers can set and work towards personal goals, as well as broader ambitions to become a major force for good in the world.
Delivering solutions
Within The Bridge, we have established four theme-based expert groups which provide a dynamic platform for thought-leadership and multi-disciplinary collaboration to generate solutions for some of the most pressing problems in the world today. Through focused projects, each theme draws on internal academic expertise, translation network partnerships and external contacts within influential environments. These external experts include our City Fellows, alumni and leaders within policy, practice and business with whom we have forged links. Our four themes are in the following categories:
- Global Health and Wellbeing
- Education
- Energy, environment and climate change
- Artificial Intelligence and Data
