It has been two years since the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, appeared on television screens to announce the ‘stay at home’ directive and first nationwide lockdown. Life changed almost overnight for individuals, communities and businesses as they came to terms with the realities of a global pandemic.
COVID-19 also caused a seismic change in the research community. Not just for the scientists who focussed their efforts on creating the incredible vaccines and treatments that would go on to save millions of lives, but also for those researchers who sought to tackle the pandemic’s impact on all aspects of our lives.
From home-schooling children to protecting bus drivers from infection, drone-delivered medical supplies to super-fast sanitising, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has invested £554m on more than 3,300 new research and innovation initiatives over the past two years, aiding recovery from the pandemic and also creating a legacy of positive change across our society.
