The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Irene Tracey, commended the award recipients, emphasizing the outstanding contributions of Oxford’s academics.

This year, the Research Engagement Award was given to the REACH team, a group of academics from Oxford’s School of Geography and the Environment. Since 2015, REACH has collaborated with UNICEF, governments, civil society organizations, and universities to enhance water security for 10 million people in Africa and Asia by 2024.

Simon Dadson, Professor of Hydrology in the School of Geography and the Environment, highlighted the significance of the partnerships formed through the REACH program, which have resulted in substantial progress toward universal water security. The team has delivered safe, reliable drinking water to numerous communities, schools, and health clinics; improved understanding and responses to flooding and droughts in Bangladesh and East Africa; and mitigated river water pollution in Ethiopia.

Professor Dadson’s group specifically contributed by developing high-resolution maps of drought and water scarcity for Kenya and Ethiopia, providing crucial data to local partners to assess and anticipate climate-related challenges. He expressed great honour in receiving the Vice-Chancellor’s Award, acknowledging the importance of the sensitive, respectful in-country partnerships that have driven REACH’s success and the remarkable results achieved through global collaboration.