We live in a complex, fast-moving and fragile world. Numerous issues and challenges impact the daily lives of individuals, communities, and societies, both nationally and internationally. The Institute of Global Challenges and Cultures (IGCC), a multi-disciplinary entity, conducts high-quality, cutting-edge research that grapples with these complexities and challenges. Our aim is to make a positive contribution to social, economic, cultural, and environmental wellbeing, with an emphasis on two distinct research clusters – ‘Migration, Integration and Conflict’ and ‘Global Cultures: Material, Textual and Visual’.
Our strategic vision is to engage with the key challenges that humanity faces, using both a disciplinary and interdisciplinary focus, and to produce world-leading scholarly outputs, impact and knowledge exchange, forging research that is significant, impactful, and with real-world applications.
In the Research Excellence Framework 2021, 86% of our research for unit 27 (English Language and Literature) and 72% for unit 30 (History) were assessed as internationally excellent or world leading – ratings that demonstrate the quality of our research.
Global in our outlook, we are committed to academic collaboration and to our external partnerships, in both national and international contexts, which have generated numerous high-impact outcomes. Many of our members have conducted consultancy for (or worked on collaborative projects with) governmental, cultural, third-sector or international organisations, such as the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Ministry of Defence, Historic England, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the United Nations, the House of Lords and FIFA, and media such as the BBC, Channel 4, Al Jazeera and CNN.
As DMU is a United Nations’ Academic Impact Hub for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), the institute's research is closely aligned with the values enshrined in all UN SDGs.