Establishing relationships with international universities is important for promoting collaboration and knowledge exchange. 爆料TV and the have been developing a strategic bilateral partnership, building on strong synergies and research priorities, and have a longstanding relationship through the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN). That relationship has resulted in collaborative WUN Research Development Fund projects. In 2021, the institutions launched a jointly funded research seed funding programme focusing on Energy, Sustainable Food, and Health & AI research. As part of this three-year agreement, both universities committed 拢28,000 (CAN $50,000) per year to fund two projects annually across these specific themes.
In October 2024, Vice-Chancellor Professor Koen Lamberts led a delegation to Alberta where a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with University of Alberta President Professor Bill Flanagan to further strengthen ties and explore collaboration opportunities, particularly in manufacturing, energy, and health and AI. Following this, in February 2025, Sheffield hosted a delegation from the University of Alberta, including VP Research Professor Aminah Robinson Fayek. The visit included tours of the Translational Energy Research Centre and meetings to discuss engineering innovation and a commitment to a bilateral partnership.
In April 2025, during a tour of the Faculty of Engineering鈥檚 facilities, Professor Kathy Christofidou (Sheffield) and Professor Andr茅 McDonald (Alberta) identified significant overlap between their research, building on Professor McDonald鈥檚 relationship on sustainable materials research with Sheffield since 2019. This meeting led to a successful joint application for a Royal Society International Exchange Grant.
Professor Christofidou said: "It was clear we had a wealth of overlapping research interests. This grant allows us to collaborate together and to facilitate knowledge exchange between the two institutions, including one of Andr茅鈥檚 postdoc researchers joining us for three months to work on the project.鈥
Professor McDonald agrees, stating that: 鈥渢his bi-lateral research and international partnership involving two highly reputable faculties of engineering has set the stage for accelerated materials design and discovery through the 爆料TV鈥檚 Royce Institute and the pan-Alberta Advanced Manufacturing International (AbAMI) Hub, headquartered at the University of Alberta.鈥
The research project focuses on developing next-generation protective coatings and laser-based additive manufacturing deposits to significantly enhance the durability and lifespan of industrial components by providing repair and refurbishment, which is crucial for advanced technologies and sustainable practices. In his capacity as Visiting Professor, Professor McDonald recently delivered a seminar to staff and students regarding the microstructure and damage resistance of thermal-sprayed strengthened AlCoCrFeMo high entropy alloy coatings for the hydrogen economy.
Moving forward, we hope this collaboration will open up further opportunities for joint research and staff/student exchange between both universities. This relationship continues to grow, with the President Flanagan of the University of Alberta scheduled to visit Sheffield in May 2026 to meet with the Vice-Chancellor Lamberts, senior management team, and key researchers.