Research and innovation
Our upcoming research events
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Our research
Our research is organized around four challenge-led themes, highlighting how our research relates to key societal issues and concerns.
We are committed to our research having a positive societal impact and value engagement and knowledge exchange with partners from industry, government, the public sector and civil society.
Follow us on LinkedIn and Bluesky for updates on our latest research.
Research themes
Our research is organized around four challenge-led themes, highlighting how our research relates to key societal issues and concerns. The themes span traditional sub-fields of media, communication, and cultural studies while also making possible inter-disciplinary connections, enabling new research collaborations and emergent outcomes.
Each intersecting theme is explored through various theoretical perspectives, modalities, and methods, including creative practice and practice-led research. As well as advancing academic knowledge in these areas, we are committed to our research having a positive societal impact and value engagement and knowledge exchange with partners from industry, government, the public sector and civil society.
Working in partnership
The School of Media and Communication collaborates with internal and external partners to inform regional, national, and international policy through collaborations with industry, regulators and policymakers, such as the BBC, Ofcom, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, and the European Commission. Our researchers work with communities and industry partners to interrogate the challenges they are facing through dialogue, participation, public engagement and creative practice. Find out more.
Research projects
Our research projects explore the past, present and future of media and communication using archives, new technologies and global partnerships.
Faculty researcher named Jisc Community Champion for 2026
A researcher from the University of Leeds’ Faculty of Arts, Humanities and…
Monday 9 February 2026
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Exclusive communications placement programme launched for University of Leeds students
Students selected for the programme will gain hands-on experience across PR,…
Monday 2 February 2026
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Jacqui Oatley MBE returns to Leeds to support arts and humanities students
Broadcaster and sports commentator Jacqui Oatley MBE returned to the…
Monday 2 February 2026
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Supporting Shorts: the project quietly shaping who gets to make films
“They all have this body of work that proves they’re as entitled as…
Thursday 15 January 2026
More on Supporting Shorts: the project quietly shaping who gets to make filmsSOLUM: Jim Brogden photographs 2007-2025
The exhibition will reveal a researcher-photographer attuned to the quiet eloquence of place and the stories embedded in its contours
Tuesday 24 February 2026 - Monday 16 March 2026, 11:00 - 17:00 |
More on SOLUM: Jim Brogden photographs 2007-2025Beyond the Hype: Mobile telephony and the Limits of empowerment
This talk examines the celebrated narrative of mobile telephony as a tool of empowerment in the Global South.
Wednesday 11 March 2026, 15:45 - 17:00 |
More on Beyond the Hype: Mobile telephony and the Limits of empowermentThe Cultural Industries in Long-Term Historical Context
Marking the publication of the new, fifth edition of David Hesmondhalgh’s book The Cultural Industries, a discussion between David Hesmondhalgh and Anamik Saha followed by Q&A
Thursday 12 March 2026, 18:15 - 20:00 |
More on The Cultural Industries in Long-Term Historical ContextSymposium: Cultures of Platformisation in Africa
What are the social and cultural implications of platforms and platformisation in Africa? This in-person and online seminar critically assesses accelerating and expansive platformisation
Friday 13 March 2026, 12:00 - 18:00 |
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