The head of the UK's Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) has praised the “magical mix” of research and teaching at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU).
Professor Christopher Smith was given a tour of the university’s Vijay Patel Building, home to its arts and design courses, to see some of the pioneering design and textiles research being undertaken on campus.
Professor Smith, executive chair of the AHRC, saw first hand how the research carried out by DMU academics directly influences the teaching students enjoy.
He said: “I have been enormously impressed with how integrated this university is. So many of the areas between teaching and research are well connected together.
“This is not always the case but here, at DMU, there is a very magical mix of specialists working together, bringing in students, inspiring them with their research.”
Led by Professor Christine White, Deputy Dean of the Arts, Design and Humanities (ADH) faculty, and Professor Siobhan Keenan, the faculty’s Associate Dean Research and Innovation, the tour took in work in the Textiles Engineering and Materials (TEAM) research group.
Professor Smith heard from Professor Claire Lerpiniere, whose teaching and research supervision focuses on presenting students with alternative technologies and conceptual frameworks to develop the sustainable and ethical practice of textile design.
He was also shown the work of Professor Jinsong Shen and Dr Edward Smith, whose work has encompassed a number of sustainable methods of textile production.
Professor Shen has pioneered techniques including using laser technology to apply dyes directly to textile fabrics requiring far less energy, water and chemicals than conventional methods, and biotechnology using enzymes to dye textiles without using traditional premanufactured dyes as an alternative to conventional dyeing methods saving energy and reducing effluent waste.
Professor Smith was also shown the use of advanced virtual reality technology and 3D printing used for by researchers and students on DMU’s design courses, and in each case shown how students on many different courses are involved in the research and inspired in their classroom thinking by it.
He said: “Here, especially, in the Arts, Design and Humanities faculty at DMU, things have a quite literally material quality; you can touch and feel them.
“Our job at ARHC is to put the humanities right at the heart of science, to show that science is not something done to citizens but with citizens.
“And I can see that happening at DMU very clearly.”
Posted on Friday 11 April 2025