Despite a global pandemic, UTS and Shanghai University found ways to continue connecting and collaborating via virtual workshops. This partnership is living proof that tangible outcomes are possible through virtual collaboration.
SHU-UTS Environmental Technologies and Sustainable Energy Virtual Workshop
On 12 April 2021, the UTS Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater (CTWW) and the School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering (DECE) at Shanghai University met virtually to explore their common research interests in urban water systems, sustainability, and renewable energy. The workshop showcased the work of PhD students from the two research centres.
Academics identified mutual research interests in advanced water treatment with a low carbon footprint, resource recovery and sustainable energy, smart cities, and an emerging area in which both universities are strong: carbon capture and neutralisation. They put together a strategy to work around COVID-19, by starting with an online workshop to enable inter-institutional cooperation of PhD students and staff.
As a result of the workshop, collaborators have produced three journal papers and additional joint publications are in the pipeline. They currently have five PhD students and five academic staff working together. In future, they hope to involve more students and academics, publish at least ten journal articles, explore the establishment of a Joint Research Centre in carbon neutralisation wastewater treatment and biomass utilisation, establish a joint teaching program for SHU students to receive lectures from UTS academics in Environmental Engineering with funding support from SHU, and activate research student exchange via the collaborative doctoral degree program.
SHU-UTS Digital Media Virtual Symposium
The SHU-UTS Digital Media Virtual Symposium took place on 8 June 2021. During this successful and inspiring event, both parties had the opportunity to exchange ideas and discuss research collaboration and training in the topics of Film and Television, Social Media and Journalism and Communication. Academics gained an understanding of each other's expertise, encouraging clusters of researchers on both sides to collaborate, and identify synergies and potential joint projects.
The research collaboration between the UTS School of Communication and colleagues at SHU has been active since the event by formalising these interactions with a co-edited collection of essays and articles, broadly around the theme of digital communities, smart networks and new civic formations in Australia and China. This project will be led by UTS Professor Philip Hayward and SHU Distinguished Professor Li Xigen. Submissions are open to participants of the symposium, to Higher Degree Research (HDR) students and early career researchers at both institutions. There are ten submissions from SHU already and UTS is aiming to match that number.