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Collaboratory Research Hub is bringing universities and communities together to shape research around local priorities. Established in 2022, the partnership now spans five East Midlands universities, supporting 79 doctoral researchers and placement candidates alongside more than 82 community partners. From suicide prevention to youth employment, its work shows how involving communities in research can generate relevant insights, widen access to PhDs and help inform positive change.

ntu.ac.uk/about-us/news/news-articles/2026/10/community-engaged-research

Professor Helen Hall explores why Britain and Ireland had no recorded werewolf trials and what folklore reveals about cultural beliefs and criminal justice.

ntu.ac.uk/about-us/news/news-articles/2026/10/why-no-werewolf-trials-britain-ireland

Professor John Groeger explains why putting the clocks back disrupts sleep, how the body’s internal clock regulates rest and alertness, and why some people are more affected than others.

ntu.ac.uk/about-us/news/news-articles/2026/10/why-clocks-going-back-disrupt-body-clock

Professor Rowena Hill reflects on the launch of the government's Be Ready campaign and explains why building community resilience is so important.

ntu.ac.uk/about-us/news/news-articles/2026/10/why-emergency-preparedness-must-start-with-our-communities

Dr Frances Howard, who was part of a research advisory group that supported the new National Youth Strategy, explains what conditions are needed to support young people

ntu.ac.uk/about-us/news/news-articles/2026/10/conditions-for-young-people-to-thrive

Millions of pieces of space debris are orbiting Earth at enormous speeds, threatening satellites and future space missions. Space physics expert Dr Ian Whittaker explains how the problem has grown, the dangers it poses and whether we can find ways to clean up our increasingly crowded orbit.

ntu.ac.uk/about-us/news/news-articles/2026/10/what-is-space-debris

A new study warns that climate change, digital technology, misinformation and modern working patterns are creating growing challenges for sleep health across Europe.

ntu.ac.uk/about-us/news/news-articles/2026/10/europe-threats-to-sleep

There are an estimated 10 quintillion insects alive on Earth at any given time. That’s 10,000,000,000,000,000,000 individual insects. But how many species are there, why do we need them, and what would happen if their numbers continued to fall? Dr Alex Dittrich, a zoologist at Nottingham Trent University, explains why these small creatures play such a big role in keeping our planet functioning.

ntu.ac.uk/about-us/news/news-articles/2026/10/how-many-insects-are-there-and-why-do-we-need-them

PhD candidate Maryam Pourzakarya explains what UNESCO creative cities are, why they were established and how they benefit communities

ntu.ac.uk/about-us/news/news-articles/2026/10/what-is-a-unesco-creative-city

Why is it difficult to spot a liar? NTU psychologist Nadja Heym explains how bias, anxiety and group dynamics affect our ability to detect deception.

ntu.ac.uk/about-us/news/news-articles/2026/10/detecting-lies-and-deception-psychology