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.

Enhancing community wellbeing with the Energy of Intention

As part of our collaborative work in support of Bradford 2025, one project team has been looking at how creative practice can be used to enhance wellbeing for individuals and communities.
The role of an observer on funding panels

Samantha Aspinall reflects on what she has learnt through her experiences as an observer on nine rounds of UKRI Future Leader Fellows and Cross Council Interdisciplinary Scheme.
Promoting early development in healthy buildings research

The Healthy Buildings Network have chosen to fund four diverse and novel research projects through their pump-priming scheme. Find out more about this in this blog post.
Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Action

Crucible helps develop researchers' interdisciplinary skills, while nurturing and strengthening a global interdisciplinary community. Read participants' reflections in Siying Shen's blog post.
Achieving reciprocal development and insight through UKRI secondment

Alongside her role in the Horizons Institute, Samantha Aspinall has been working with UKRI on their innovative cross-council funding call. Read about her experiences and take-aways in this new blog.
Creating a Platform for interdisciplinary and global collaboration

We are funding five projects through our Horizons Platform Exploratory Fund. Read more about them, as well as the aims of the programme, on our blog.

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.