Taking place as higher education institutions prepare their submissions to REF 2021, Dr Juergen Wastl, Director of Academic Relations and Consultancy at Digital Science will be speaking at this online Westminster Higher Education Forum Policy Conference on Tuesday 23 March 2021. The event will look at Next Steps for the Research Excellence Framework.
Discussion will draw on lessons from the development of the current cycle and look ahead to the next iteration of the Framework. The agenda focuses on:
- Developing and incentivising positive research environments and an inclusive research culture as part of the REF
- The influence of the REF on research integrity and academic freedom
- Open access
- Impact criteria
Juergen will be part of the session that discusses ‘Delivery and measurement of impactful research – the significance of increased weighting, ‘institutional game-playing’ and the evidence base for effective impact assessment’, which takes place from 11:55-12:45 GMT.
Speakers
Dr Juergen Wastl, Director of Academic Relations & Consultancy, Digital Science

Juergen Wastl is the Director of Academic Relations and Consultancy at Digital Science, where he leads the activities of the Consultancy team. Before joining Digital Science in August 2018 Juergen acted as Deputy REF Manager for the University of Cambridge and headed up the Research Information team at the Research Strategy Office where he developed strategy and applications for the management of research information. He provided advice to all the different layers within Cambridge concerning the REF, playing an increasingly active role over the last 10 years. Juergen pioneered the development of Cambridge’s “public face” for research expertise and research profiles for Cambridge’s academic staff.