Reading in the news - Wed 28 May

Hall farm: MSN, Reading Chronicle, Bracknell News Series, and AOL report that the trust covering the land at Hall Farm means that money from the sale must be reinvested into the University’s food and agriculture research.

#UniForReading: our role as a civic university

• Stephen Conway, Leader of Wokingham Borough Council mentions the value of community partnerships with the University, in an article for Bracknell News (and in print).
• The Diocese of Oxford and BBC Radio Berkshire report on the Reading Citizens Roundtable, which was hosted by Vice Chancellor, Professor Robert van der Noort.
• An article in Henley Standard mentions that the University has been involved in mentoring junior rugby players.

#PlanetPartners: working with global partners to protect the environment

• Professor Liz Bentley (Meterology) tells BBC Radio Berkshire that we should have typical British summer weather, this year.
• Finnooexpert notes Professor Ed Hawkins comment that rainfall intensity has increased since the 1800s, in an article about rain after a dry spell.
• The Sunday Times reports on a fear of flying course, citing increased turbulence as a factor in passenger anxiety. Professor Paul Williams’ work on turbulence is mentioned. This research is also mentioned by MSN India and The Pioneer.
• The India Meteorological Department has upgraded alerts from yellow to red, as monsoon rains arrive early. Dr Akshay Deoras is quoted, giving context for how alerts are issued, based on weather models and satellite images. Hindustan Times reports.
• Dr Akshay Deoras appears on Aaj Tak to speak about climate change, extreme weather events, including turbulence, in particular.

Health and wellbeing:

• Dr Juliane Honisch (Psychology) spoke to BBC Radio Berkshire about healthy ageing and falls, in particular.

Food and farming:

• The University, with NHS and Care UK partners,  won an award at the Vitafoods Europe Innovation Awards for Most Innovative Industry Partnership, with icesupp – a frozen nutritional supplement for people who struggle with intake due to illness, low appetite, or feeding issues. Ingredients Network reports.
• Recent research from Professor Claire Williams shows that eating a handful of walnuts in the morning leads to improved brain function through the day. This is mentioned in a Times (and in print) article on superfoods. From our news story: Eating walnuts for breakfast may boost your brain function.
• University of Reading research led by Professor Gunter Kuhnle shows that adding banana to a smoothie reduces the available flavanols. AOL and Yahoo! report. From our news story: Avoid going bananas to avoid this common smoothie slip-up.

Business and society:

• Visiting fellow, Vincenzo Raimo writes for HEPI about the widening gap between talk about internationalisation and what that looks like, in practice.
• Is the office dress code dead? Professor Lucy Newton (Henley Business School) is quoted discussing this in an article for Raconteur.
• Marketing Week reports on the 36^th ACO Leadership Conference, where Professor Benjamin Laker (Henley Business School) presented a “modern model of leadership influence”.
• Reflecting on his attendance at UKREiiF 2025, Real Estate student, Tom Osborn highlights some of his favourite sessions. UK Property Forums reports.
• Nomvula Zeldah Mabuza is an MBA candidate at Henley Business School. She writes on the high unemployment among young South Africans, for Business Report.
• In an article on SME Today, about the impact of workplace noise on neurodivergent employees, Professor Derek Clements-Croome (Construction Management & Engineering) gives a five point action plan for organisations ready to embrace inclusive design.
• Since the introduction of AI, cloud computing costs are increasing. Kevin Mortimer (Head of Operations) says that the hidden cost is from network and storage, not from computing. CIO and GIXtools report.

Heritage and culture:

• Professor Kate Williams comments on the King’s speech at the opening of the Canadian Parliament, on BBC Radio Wales.
• Full Fact cites Dr Dominic Lees (Film) explaining that there were characteristics of a video featuring Trump speaking on India and Pakistan that made it clear it was a ‘deepfake’.
• After examining the skeleton of the last PG Tips chimp, University of Reading researchers concluded that her early life was extremely difficult. MSN, Mirror, and Daily Star report.

Other coverage:

• Visiting fellow, Dr Ben Chester Cheong, writes for Channel News Asia, on the question of where Singapore and Asia’s leaders will be educated now that the USA may not be a possibility.

Alumni:

• Daisy Bellamy, a former Digital Marketing student, joins the Great Britain rowing squad ahead of the European Rowing Championships in Bulgaria. Henley Standard reports.