Humanities Summits

In May 2025, the School of Advanced Study held its annual Humanities Summits on the theme of collaboration. The summits were held at Manchester Museum and at Senate House in London, and reached over 100 people across both dates.

Both summits employed a ‘flipped’ approach, in which the events began with an open discussion led by the participants, before moving onto presentations and panels.

The opening discussions were wide-ranging, taking in a variety of pressing topics including the evolution of the humanities curriculum, humanities advocacy, competition vs collaboration between institutions, and the need for more joined up action around equality and inclusion. The session provided a valuable forum for participants to share experiences and approaches at a sector level.

The second session placed a spotlight on the future of skills training, and how new collaborative and combined approaches are equipping doctoral researchers with vital skills. Professor Katherine Harloe and Dr Emlyn Dodd from the Institute of Classical Studies discussed the ways in which Classics has responded to the pressures facing the discipline through innovative collaborative approaches to training, such as workshops, virtual information sessions, and co-produced online language-learning modules.

This was followed by a presentation from the team behind RESHAPED, a new training and community space for researchers in the humanities. The new platform, developed by SAS, provides training courses and toolkits written by experts, and hubs connecting researchers, resources and training across the UK.

The final session explored how researchers can collaborate with policymakers and industry at a regional level, drawing on the experience and insights of expert panellists.

In Manchester, Rebecca Wilkie, Senior Programme Manager at New Writing North, shared insights from her experience overseeing regional events in the literature sector, including Durham Book Festival. Wieke Eringa discussed the work of Leeds’ Cultural Institute, which activates exchange between the University of Leeds and the creative sector. James Coe, Senior Partner and Director at Counterculture Scotland, stressed the importance of place in the development of collaborative regional projects.

In London, Cllr Ani Stafford-Townsend, co-chair of the Bristol One City Culture Board, shared their experience of overseeing collaboration in the arts in a combined authority context, and Professor Nicky Marsh, co-director of the Southampton Institute for Arts and Humanities, shared her findings on the role of culture in the context of the ongoing 'pride in place' agenda.