Skip to main content
Institute of Advanced Study
External shot of Institute of Advanced study at Cosin's Hall

The IAS is committed to supporting and developing exciting ideas with potential. 

In 2024/25, four projects will run,  two in each term (Michaelmas; and Epiphany): Syntactical Structures and the Evolution of Mind and Culture; Looking Back to Look Forward; Humans and Numbers; and The Many Facets of Social Inequality. 

In addition, in 2024/25, several Research Development Projects will take place. Find out more about these here.

An additional four Major Projects will take place in academic year 2025/26: Interest in Cattle: value, risk and security in eastern and southern Africa; Confronting Climate Apartheid: law, economy, culture; Surfacing Knowledge from Doctoral Research: mining the hidden potential of international doctoral theses; and Arts Engagement and Mental Health at Work. 

IAS Major Projects began with preliminary ideas and planning the year before the project takes place with events and activities to build project capacity and then in the project year itself sees an intensive term of activity for each project with visiting Fellows and a variety of events. 

Further details of all eight projects, including contacts can be found below. 

Future IAS projects

Click on the links below to take you to each individual project and further information. 

Syntactical Structures and the Evolution of Mind and Culture

This project proposes that this syntactical ability lies at the heart of what it means to be human.
A brain in colour. Image by natasha connell

Looking Back to Look Forward

History, Recovery, and Sustainability in Understanding the War in Ukraine on a Global Scale
Kyviv

Human and Numbers

Humans and Numbers seeks to understand how humans interact with numbers across contexts, disciplines and time through three core themes.
numbers

The Many Facets of Social Inequality

This project aims to gain new insights into these causes of inequality and poverty and develop effective policy solutions.
Hand out foodbank donations

Interest in Cattle: value, risk and security in eastern and southern Africa

This project explores how cattle are linked to changing understandings of future security, value and risk and develop new collaborations and research projects
Cattle being herded in the Masi Mara - istock

Surfacing Knowledge from Doctoral Research: mining the hidden potential of international doctoral theses

This project explores the knowledge and impact of the research produced by PhD studies in UK universities.
Image of PhD thesis

Arts Engagement and Mental Health at Work

Aims to explore how arts engagement can help to combat loneliness at work, thereby increasing working adults’ mental health and well-being.
people watching an orchestra

Confronting Climate Apartheid: law, economy, culture

Takes an integrative interdisciplinary approach to understand how climate apartheid is, has been, and could be used by focusing on the contexts in which it appears.
Dried up river