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The best of both worlds: bringing people together to find global solutions

“In terms of resources, research grants, projects, jobs, and all kinds of opportunities, doing this dual award gives you double access to everything.” Dr Judy Too

Global perspectives

In the race towards net zero, the building sector has a long way to go, with steel, cement and concrete all being major contributors to CO² emissions. 

This global challenge needs a global response. That’s one of the reasons Judy decided to apply for a Manchester-Melbourne dual award PhD to explore how the construction industry can adopt a more standardised approach to decarbonisation. Her research resulted in the development of a framework that identifies key decision-making variables for the design of low-carbon buildings.

Judy spent a year in Melbourne as part of her PhD, which gave her a unique opportunity to examine different approaches to low-carbon design in both countries. This experience broadened her perspective, strengthened her research, and gave it global reach. 

She had input from multiple supervisors at each institution, Obuks Ejohwomu, Reader in Civil Engineering and Management and Akilu Yunusa-Kaltungo, Reader in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in Manchester, and Felix Kin Peng Hui, Associate Professor of Engineering Management, Colin Duffield, Professor Emeritus of Engineering Project Management, and Nilupa Herath, Lecturer in Infrastructure Engineering in Melbourne, who all came together to meet with her virtually each month. Her research was assessed by both institutions, and she was awarded two PhD certificates – one from each university. 

“Having two PhD certificates from two world-class institutions for one research project is pretty special. People ask me about it all the time!”

Institutional expertise

The partnership enabled Judy to observe how decarbonisation strategies were implemented across the two countries, and to weigh up varying approaches to policy. Both institutions supported her to disseminate her research in the most effective way and engage with the right people to drive change in each setting.

During her PhD, she worked with Policy@Manchester, ����ֱ��’s policy engagement institute, on a on the environmental impact of construction materials, and for updated policies that reflect whole-life emissions. The team’s connections helped get that paper in front of the right decision makers and influence UK policy. She was also able to adapt the paper for use in Australia, and begin to influence policy there, too.

“Straight away I could see how helpful it was to work with a centre like Policy@Manchester. It gave me the tools to apply my research through policy, and the connections to push for real change."

In Melbourne, PhD research is shared through public seminars and opened up for comment. Judy was able to use this platform to involve industry professionals and engage policy makers in Australia. She received constructive feedback from key stakeholders on research output, and her final framework was validated by industry professionals, instilling confidence in the sector and supporting implementation on the ground. 

“Talking to industry players face-to-face and showing them what I was trying to do, was invaluable. Having the public seminars really helps get PhD research out into the world.”

Cross-continent connections

Judy’s now working at the University of Melbourne as a researcher, and still collaborates regularly with the team at Manchester to bring together the best of both worlds and come up with solutions that can work across disparate contexts. 

“I’m still very much connected to Manchester, mainly through my ex-supervisor, Obuks Ejohwomu. He is coming to Melbourne next week, actually! Some of my old PhD colleagues are coming too, and Obuks is bringing some new PhD students from Manchester with him to get them involved.”

Obuks is now supervising a new PhD cohort, and continues to see how the benefits of this partnership extend to every level, from individual students and supervisors, to the wider research team, and even the advancement of climate research more generally. 

“No-one has a monopoly on knowledge. There’s always something to learn from different perspectives. Working with colleagues in Melbourne has broadened my knowledge and enhanced our collective research capability, without a doubt.”

As well as publishing numerous papers in high-profile international journals, the team has a book deal in the pipeline, and Obuks has been working with students across both institutions on an offshoot project designing climate-friendly cookstoves for use in rural Kenya. A further collaboration with Tsinghua University in China has also been established, broadening the global scope of the team’s work. 

It’s clear the research community that started with Judy’s PhD continues to thrive, with output and impact gaining momentum as this influential collaboration progresses.