Launch of the Institute for Sustainability, Health and Environment

The University of the West of England celebrates the launch of a new Research and Knowledge Exchange Institute, the Institute for Sustainability, Health and Environment (ISHE), that brings together the research expertise from three distinct areas of expertise for which UWE has become renowned.

The new Institute will work with over 100 organisations and agencies in its Sustainability, Health and Environment work and will be able to draw upon expertise from 32 Research Centres and over 600 programmes of study offered by UWE. The new Institute's expertise will cover public and environmental health; spatial and transport planning; leisure, tourism and society; sustainable and healthy communities; governance and democracy; air quality management; low carbon technology and management; environmental science; environmental justice; plant science; biomedicine, clinical and health services. ISHE will be Co-directed by Professor Jim Longhurst (Associate Dean in the Faculty of Environment and Technology, and Director of the Air Quality Management Resource Centre) and Judy Orme (Reader and Director of the Centre for Public Health Research in the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences).

Professor Jim Longhurst explains, “We have noticed an increasing synergy in projects that blend health and the environment. The new Institute will enable us to strengthen our international reputation in these key research areas. These areas are critically important to society as we all strive towards a lower carbon lifestyle in the future.

Focusing on health and wellbeing in later life, a conference entitled 'Sustainable Futures in an Ageing World' will be held at UWE in September. For more details of the Institute visit http://www.uwe.ac.uk/research/ishe.