Horizons Institute

The Horizons Institute fosters early-stage interdisciplinary research to address complex challenges, with programmes and interventions designed to ignite creative approaches and new ideas.

We equip researchers with the skills and means to build thriving collaborations, helping them explore their work from different perspectives and find new opportunities for collaborative interdisciplinary working.

We work with researchers, higher education institutions and sector-wide initiatives across the UK and globally to support the development of a better connected and more equitable interdisciplinary research community.

The Horizons Institute exists to bring people together from across all disciplines, to collaborate on high-risk, high-reward research addressing complex challenges. This can only be done by investing in the people we work with, developing skills and connecting across areas of expertise.

Stuart Taberner, Director of the Horizons Institute

Learn more about our ambitions and measures of success, and read our Inclusion Strategy to find out more about the values that drive our work.

News and blogs

Read the latest news and blogs from the Horizons Institute and our research community.

Great idea, bad decisions

Following the closure of the Cross Research Council Responsive Mode scheme, Samantha shares reflections of working in this dynamic and boundary-breaking team for the past three years.
Research and evidence for the Leeds Ambitions

Abi Rowson (Research Manager, Horizons Institute) and Mike Eakins (Head of Policy, Leeds City Council) introduce the newly-refreshed Leeds City Council Areas of Research Interest for 2025–2026.
Insight Series: an art-science dialogue

Kelly Cumberland, Dr Heiko Wurdak and Dr Sabrina Samuel share how they collaborated to create an exhibition of art works reflecting on some of the often-overlooked elements of lab processes.
Working together for cleaner air and better health

Data is often gathered with little consideration around access for source communities. Here SYNERGIA shares how they’re making data available and accessible for communities in South Africa and the UK.
Evaluating interdisciplinary research

Kristin Oxley of the Research Council of Norway and Dr Alex Amey of UKRI shared their perspectives on how funders are changing their approach to better support creative and interdisciplinary research.
Designing harmony into interdisciplinary teams

Read a blog post based on Prof Paul Vickers’ experiences of leading an interdisciplinary team in his UKRI-funded Sonic Intangibles project.
Health, energy and AI projects funded through Global Crucible

An introduction to the three early-stage interdisciplinary projects supported through the Horizons Institute’s Global Crucible pump-prime fund.

Case studies

Timely collaboration opens the door to global health partnership

Helping University of Leeds researchers work in partnership with the World Health Organisation to create better global preparedness in health.
Physical activity research finds strength in numbers

The InterActive research network promotes interdisciplinary collaboration across the University of Leeds for those working on movement and physical activity.
Improving health information for families through African collaboration

A new collaborative project with researchers from Africa and the University of Leeds explores ways to improve how health information is communicated to families.
Helping to deliver a cultural showcase

LEEDS 2023 will host a major cultural programme that promises to be a spectacular celebration of a vibrant city region. Find out how Horizons is helping them embed principles of co-creation.
Leeds research network to tackle major global health threat

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the top ten global health threats facing humanity. AMR@Leeds aims to address this pressing issue through an interdisciplinary approach to research.
Looking beyond medicine – a new network for mental health research

The Leeds Interdisciplinary Mental Health Research Network (LIMHRN) launched in January 2022 to bring together different disciplinary perspectives on mental health.