Judge for 2025 UK Operation Excellence Awards
Jul 11, 2025
Location
Awards Ceremony held at Park Plaza London Riverbank on 9th September 2025
Description
I am delighted to join a prestigious lineup of judges from industry and academia to support the 2025 UK Operation Excellence Awards that will be held in Park Plaza London Riverbank.
The Operational Excellence Awards UK celebrate organisations and individuals setting new standards for operational excellence. Building on four years of successfully recognising operational excellence in Ireland, this UK-based programme celebrates those driving business transformation through process improvement, technology adoption, and enhanced customer experience. The Operational Excellence Awards UK provide a platform to showcase achievements and inspire others to unlock efficiencies, reduce costs, and improve performance through data-driven strategies.
Coastal Ecosystem Hub Workshop – Shaping the Future of Aquatic Policy
Jun 16, 2025
Location
Media City Salford UK
Description
Workshop held on 16th of June 2025 to launch the Coastal Ecosystem Hub—a collaborative initiative aimed at bridging the gap between academia, policymakers, and industry in aquatic ecosystem monitoring and policy implementation.
Building on the long-term collaboration (The Living Lab) between the Mersey Gateway Environmental Trust (MGET) and the University of Salford, this workshop will explore strategies for integrating evidence-based methodologies into environmental policies.
The overarching aim is to foster collaboration between academics, policymakers, and industry leaders to advance coastal monitoring and policy development. It will focus on developing actionable recommendations to enhance aquatic ecosystem monitoring within regulatory frameworks while providing a platform to showcase research innovations, share expertise, and explore funding opportunities for sustainable coastal management.
Amazonia Brazil UK Workshop - Global problems, local solutions: developing an integrated framework towards sustainable fisheries and aquaculture
Jul 22, 2024
Location
Bragança, Pará (State chosen to host the UN climate summit, COP30, in 2025)
Description
The four-day workshop (which included discussions, round tables, a trip to a local Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging company, G Pesca) relied on an interdisciplinary and engaging environment. All participants worked together to discuss problems and develop solutions. The workshop ended with a roundtable discussion at the Federal Institute of Pará, IFPA, campus of Bragança attended by representatives from 9 municipalities and 8 institutions, as well as dozens of students, teachers and the general public. The Federal institutions present were: the Superintendence for the Development of the Amazon (SUDAM), the Federal Institute of Education (IFPA) and the Federal University of Pará (UFPA). The State Government was represented by the State Secretariat for Agricultural and Fisheries Development (SEDAP) and the Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Company of the State of Pará (EMATER – Municipalities of Bragança and Capanema). The Municipal institutions were represented by the Environment Secretariat of Bragança and the City Hall of Muaná (Ilha do Marajó). Mr. Raul Gomes, leader of the fishermen association All together in the same canoe (bringing together several cities on the island of Marajó, in the Municipality of São Sebastião da Boa Vista), who presented local challenges at the very beginning of the workshop, presented his feedback on the discussions which took place during the four days of the workshop.
The SEDAP Fisheries Engineer, Ediano Sandes, presented the results of the surveys on the shrimp crisis obtained from interviews with fishermen in the Marajó and Tocantins regions, enriching the discussions. In addition, Ms. Paola Gomes, representative of the Fisheries Secretariat (Secretaria de Pesca), from the Prefecture of Muaná (Marajó Island) gave her testimony on how abundant shrimp were in the past and the unfortunate current situation, in which fishermen are unable to catch enough shrimp to feed themselves. The roundtable has been transmitted live online, to reach an even broader audience (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFxVSddhWgs,134 views Streamed live on Jul 25, 2024).
The newly formed network (all 26 official workshop participants, plus members of local organizations who joined the final discussion roundtable) and local communities are now connected with a WhatsApp group (previous acknowledgement and permission of data sharing) and will be available to use a network website (in progress) to favour regular exchange of info, grant calls, students and expertise and best practise.
Six community workshops employing the Photovoice technique were conducted as part of the ENSEMBLE research project.
Location
1. Church of the Ascension, Ascension Rd, Salford M7 1AG.
2. Lombardy Court Sheltered Housing Retirement Living Complex, Lombardy Court, Salford M6 5JF.
3. Ordsall Community Arts Centre, 2 Robert Hall St, Salford M5 3LT.
4. FoodCycle Salford Angel Cent
Description
Six community workshops were conducted as part of the photovoice phase of the ENSEMBLE research project. These workshops aimed to introduce the project to local participants, recruit community members as co-researchers, and provide training on the photovoice technique—including guidance on capturing and submitting photos. The sessions also facilitated data collection through photography and included interpretation and reflection workshops, where participants discussed the photos and shared their narratives.
The organisation of these workshops was supported by several local community groups and centres, including Church of the Ascension in Lower Broughton, Lombardy Court Sheltered Housing Retirement Living Complex, Ordsall Community Art Centre, The Broughton Trust, and the FoodCycle Salford Angel Centre.
Through these workshops, a database of over 150 photos was generated. The interpretation workshops gathered valuable community insights linked to the images, enriching the research and helping transition the project into its second phase. Moreover, these activities established strong local networks involving over 15 community groups, fostering community connections and building trust—essential foundations for participatory research and ongoing collaboration.