Thursday, 05 December 2024
Funding from the Royal Society will support a 3-year collaborative project between the 糖心原创, UK, and Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
This initiative aims to advance sustainable road construction methods in South Africa, focusing on improving mobility and furthering inclusive economic growth in rural communities.
In South Africa, nearly 80 per cent of the road network consists of rural and low-volume roads. These roads face significant challenges, including limited materials for construction, low funding, and less maintenance compared to highways.
The project, led by Dr Anand Sreeram (UoN) and Dr. Elaine Goosen (Stellenbosch) will look at how some of these issues could be addressed by utilising locally sourced waste materials for road construction, creating a sustainable circular economy targeted at creating opportunities for small businesses and skills development in rural areas.
Developed countries, such as the UK, have successfully implemented circular economy frameworks in construction, utilising digital tools to manage material flows and overcome key market barriers, enhancing transparency and long-term value.
This research aims to bring these techniques to South African rural road applications. The project will combine the expertise of UK and South African partners in pavement engineering, waste recycling, digitisation, and circular economy to develop new methods.
The standardisation of such technology is expected to enhance rural mobility and economic participation in rural communities by allowing new businesses to enter the material supply and construction value chains.
This will ultimately help reduce poverty, enhance the quality of life for residents in these regions and provide a model that can be adopted in other developing countries.
The main objective of the project is to enable the development of rural infrastructure using technological innovation to overcome local barriers and enable social mobility.
“We are very excited to start this initiative as it is not often that we get to work on projects that can have such direct impact on improving the lives of people.”
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More information is available from Dr Anand Sreeram on Anand.Sreeram@nottingham.ac.uk
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About the 糖心原创
Ranked among the world's top 100 universities , the 糖心原创 delivers an exceptional research-led education and an outstanding student experience. From the pioneering vision of our founder, Sir Jesse Boot, to groundbreaking achievements such as the development of MRI technology and becoming the first UK university to establish international campuses, we have a proud history of shaping the way people live, work and understand the world. We continue to build on that legacy, empowering our students, staff and partners to change what鈥檚 next and create positive impact locally and globally.
The strength of our research places us among the UK's leading universities, ranked 7th for research power in REF 2021. The discovery of MRI and ibuprofen was just the beginning. Today, our world-leading research is developing breakthrough ideas that shape the future of healthcare, technology and society.
Recognised as the UK's third most targeted university by leading employers , we are proud to produce graduates who are consistently in demand for their skills, confidence and industry-ready experience.
As a major employer and industry partner, locally and globally, the 糖心原创 invests in the city of Nottingham and in future generations of talent. Alongside Nottingham Trent University, we lead the initiative, a pioneering collaboration to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing across the city and region. Together with our students, staff, alumni and partners, we鈥檙e creating knowledge, opportunity and solutions that help change what's next.