University of Portsmouth

Description of Participant Organisation:

The University of Portsmouth (UoP) is a modern University based in historic maritime city of Portsmouth on the South Coast of the United Kingdom. We offer a wide range of undergraduate and post-graduate degrees across a range of disciplines. The UoP is also heavily involved in innovative support of industrial and governmental organisations through a range of educational, research and innovation activities at the local, national, European and international levels.

Research at UoP is flourishing and this is demonstrated by the strength and variety of the research collaborations in which the institution is engaged. Our research ranges from the purest sciences - investigating the evolution of galaxies - to the most economically and technologically applied ones - computer games design. Through studies of history, literature and society, our researchers develop and communicate new insights on topics ranging from Charles Dickens to the European Union, and from the challenges of ageing to new methods of fraud-prevention.

The UoP is ranked among the top 500 universities in the world in the most recent Times Higher Education World University Rankings. The independent rankings place Portsmouth in the top two per cent of universities worldwide and among the best in Europe. Our world-class research is further validated by the outcome of the most recent national Research Excellence Framework (REF), with over 60% of research submitted by the University rated as world-leading and internationally excellent.

The UoP has a number of areas of particular research strength, two of which are related to this proposal. Firstly, the Centre of Operational Research and Logistics (CORL) (www.port.ac.uk/corl) specialises in providing scientific decision support to a range of governmental and industrial stakeholders. This ranges through applied research on how to avoid failures and learn through failure in particular situations, through to work on scheduling vessels and personnel in a maritime environment. Decision support in the presence of multiple conflicting measurement criteria (economic, social, environmental, technical) is also provided by CORL in a range of applications. The main application themes of CORL are logistics, transportation, supply-chain management, healthcare and medical, marine and maritime and renewable energy and sustainability. CORL is also affiliated with the new South Coast Centre of Excellence in Satellite Applications which is co-funded by Satellite Applications Catapult and the UK Space Agency. The second area of relevant research expertise is the Extreme Environmental Medicine & Science Research Group (EEMSRG) in the Extreme Environments Laboratory (EEL). This internationally renowned research group has global impact on the protection, rescue and treatment of immersion casualties; international standards, guidelines, policies, campaigns and training manuals of those responsible for the protection, rescue and resuscitation of casualties; and has raised public awareness of immersion issues.

EEMSRG research has informed the training programmes of numerous international organisations including the International Lifesaving Federation, and in many first aid and search and rescue training manuals, including those of: The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), Royal Yachting Association (RYA), Mountain Rescue; Surf Lifesaving GB and New Zealand; Moroccan SAR; Royal Netherlands SAR; US Lifesaving Association; UK and Canadian military SAR; and Yachting Australia.

Cold water immersion issues in extreme environments and the consequent selection of relevant safety equipment is also a research strength of the EEMSRG.