Multi-Coloured Sky Thinking: The 2022 IRDR Spring Academy

It’s easy to associate a blue sky with positivity—a firmament free from the cover of cloud and a place where imagination has no limit. A clear sky, a clear mind; warm rays of sunshine illuminating the world around us in all. But a blue sky is not always a welcome one, not in lands begging for rainfall. Each horizon serves a purpose. Perhaps a grey sky, foreboding and opaque, may give pause for a consideration of darker futures and an opportunity to prepare.

In late April, the Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction at UCL ran a two-day event to expand upon the metaphor of blue- and grey-sky thinking and explore its meaning in disaster risk reduction. For the first time in two years, this event was held in-person, allowing many members of the department to meet face-to-face for the first time. Despite the successes made under a digital regime, a common sentiment shared by many in the reflections was the value of working together in the same room. Ideas can flow faster than some broadband connections.

Lonely Clouds in a Blue Sky

Researchers are not islands. Activities designed to connect each other through understanding our individual and collective purposes, how they interact, can help to inform better research and broaden its impact. We have more in common than we think, but also enough different to bring unique contributions to the table.

Overcast, in the Shadows of Cloud

Considering the negative can enhance the positive outcomes. Working in the field especially brings a whole host of challenges and unexpected situations that could be somewhat mitigated by applying a grey-sky-thinking mindset. Think back on past experiences that did not go to plan and reimagine an alternative way of dealing with it; adapt the situation to fit future events.

Colours of the Rainbow

Can we separate the researcher from the research? Behind the sacrament of publication are human beings with lives and feelings. Completing a PhD can be a daunting task and the emotions felt throughout can span a whole spectrum. The mentee-mentor transfer of information can easily miss out the emotional, so finding ways to hear our shared experiences from this journey can make the prospect of achievement seem more likely.

Forecasting Ahead

Coming together after two years of mainly online interaction was welcomed by many, with activities harnessing the yearned-for face-to-face connection. This may have suited well for the current size and situation of IRDR, but as it continues to grow, as crises call for a widening of research—as we fight to hold No.1—how can we optimise the resources used for such an event? Most importantly, how can we adapt to a changing landscape?