Keele expertise and research has once again made headlines all over the world this year, with academics sharing their knowledge and cutting-edge studies with media locally, nationally, and around the globe. Working with our academic colleagues, the SCB team reached 400 million people worldwide with hundreds of broadcast interviews, thousands of news articles published in print and online, and millions of social media engagements. Here are just a few highlights from Keele University’s year in the news.  

January 

We began the year by launching a new campaign celebrating our impact on healthcare throughout the region, and the work of colleagues who work both clinically in the health service and provide health education to Keele students. Coverage was secured across the local area including in the Stoke Sentinel and Daily Focus. Other prominent regional coverage secured in January included articles on BBC News online celebrating our inspiring students as they celebrated Winter Graduation, as well as our honorary graduate Lyse Doucet. 

Further afield, we also executed a hugely successful PR campaign for research led by Dr Jamie Pringle and Dr Kris Wisniewski, who carried out the first ever scientific study of the Hawthorn Ridge crater, a fortified German front-line position in the First World War, with coverage secured across UK national media and internationally. Finally, Dr Jacco van Loon spoke to Sky News about the Peregrine lunar mission which launched in January. 

February 

February saw coverage secured on BBC News online about funding secured for our new insectary, which will enable our Life Sciences researchers to enhance their cutting-edge research into tackling the spread of deadly diseases and reduce crop losses to pests. 

There was a further BBC article secured about our 750 Days initiative, giving staff an extra day off to volunteer in their community as part of our 75th anniversary celebrations. 

Nationally, Professor Zoe Paskins spoke to The Guardian for a feature about joint health, and further afield in the USA Dr Szu Shen Wong’s expertise was featured in an article on Newsweek, commenting on common ingredients in skincare products that could do more harm than good. 

March 

In March we welcomed a crew from BBC Midlands Today to tour our new Forensic Science Simulation Suite on campus, which was officially opened to celebrate 20 years of Forensic Science being offered as a degree at Keele and to provide our students with a realistic learning environment. Our students themselves also hit the headlines this month for their achievements, with coverage secured in the Crewe and Nantwich Chronicle and the Nantwich News for the story about Alex Godfrey, who became a published author in her second year of a Keele criminology degree. 

Our experts were also in demand nationally and internationally, with Dr Jonathan Parker speaking to the “i” about US Senator Kyrsten Sinema announcing that she would not stand for re-election, while Dr Matthew Wyman appeared on France 24 discussing the Russian election. 

Finally, our campus itself was in the spotlight with an article published on TimeOut, which featured an in-depth look at our world-renowned collection of cherry blossom trees. 

April 

Our academic expertise was in demand nationally in April with expert commentary on law, business, and the environment all featuring prominently. After the Scottish Government introduced its Hate Crime and Public Order Act on the 1st of April, Keele’s Dr Laura Higson-Bliss spoke to Yahoo News about what constitutes a hate crime under the new law.  

Elsewhere, Dr Gabriella Legrenzi from Keele Business School spoke to LBC radio about the impact of conflict in the Middle East on global oil markets. Finally, a Conversation article by Dr Sharon George and Professor Deirdre McKay, commenting on the environmental impact of physical media such as vinyl, was referenced and featured in multiple outlets including The Daily Mail, The Metro, BBC News, The Times, and Today (USA). 

May 

When Rishi Sunak called a General Election in May this year, Keele experts were immediately in demand across the region and nationally, sharing their expertise in politics and electoral behaviour with news outlets across the UK and Ireland. Dr Kathryn Simpson spoke to Ireland’s RTE Radio 1 about the announcement of the election, while Dr Gemma Loomes spoke to BBC Midlands Today and BBC 5 Live to give her reaction, and Dr Phil Catney featured on Signal 1, A Little Bit of Stone, the Stoke Sentinel, and the West Midlands Express and Star. 

Our experts also gave their reaction to other big news stories from around the world, with Dr Afshin Shahi speaking to The Guardian about Iran’s president dying in a helicopter crash, while Honorary Fellow Mike Tappin featured in the Metro commenting on Donald Trump being found guilty of a criminal offence. 

Finally, Dr Daniel Allen's years of campaigning to change the law surrounding pet theft came to an end when the government agreed to change the law in England and Ireland to make this a specific criminal offence, with the law change reported on BBC News.

June 

June saw two articles published on BBC News celebrating new partnerships and activities at Keele, namely our partnership with the German Aerospace Centre, and our launching of a new Sport and Exercise Science degree within our Institute for Sport. There was further coverage elsewhere on the BBC for Dr Alex Scott, who spoke to BBC Science Focus for a feature about overtiredness and how to combat it. 

Following his success in changing the law surrounding pet thefts the previous month, Dr Daniel Allen also featured in the Daily Mirror when he was nominated for a Pride of Britain award recognising his achievements, while in world news, Emeritus Professor Robert Ladrech was featured on CNBC, discussing Emmanuel Macron’s surprise decision to call an election in France, while the Daily Mail spoke to Emeritus Professor Peter Styles about a sinkhole opening up on a football field in Illinois, USA. 

July 

The General Election dominated the news for much of July, with Keele experts continuing to provide incisive analysis and commentary on the campaign as the results as the new Government came in. Dr Kathryn Simpson was live from RTE’s Westminster studio throughout election night alongside RTE’s news anchor David McCullagh and broadcaster Michael Crick, and provided post-election results analysis for RTE Radio 1’s flagship breakfast programme Morning Ireland live from College Green in Westminster on Friday morning.  

Closer to home, Dr Phil Catney was in the BBC Radio Stoke studio throughout the night also commenting on exit polls and the results as they came in across the West Midlands.

Away from UK politics, July also saw articles published on BBC News celebrating the people of Keele and activities on campus including our Student of the Year being celebrated at graduation, and the return of our annual Refugee Football Tournament organised by colleagues in the Language Centre.  

July also saw huge disruption to the world’s online infrastructure caused by the Crowdstrike global IT outage, with Dr Amro Al-Said speaking to Newsweek and Signal 1 radio about the impact of the outage, while Dr Afshin Shahi spoke to the world’s media about the elections in Iran, featuring on NBC News, BBC World Service Radio, and BBC Radio 4. 

August  

When riots took place across the country in August, Professor Clifford Stott was on hand to share his expertise on crowd psychology, policing, and riots with the media, speaking to BBC News 24 and LBC about the violent unrest in a number of UK cities. He later spoke to BBC Radio 4 for a feature about counter-protests, as the story developed, and Professor Liz Poole also spoke to the media about the role of social media in the riots spreading, with interviews on France 24, Signal 1, and BBC Radio Stoke. 

Other major news in August included the sinking of a yacht off the coast of Sicily, with Dr Jamie Pringle sharing his expertise on forensic investigations while the search for the yacht continued. Dr Pringle featured on Sky News twice discussing the story, with his comments also featuring on Radio X. 

As the new Government also began to set out its priorities, Dr Nick O’ Donovan from Keele Business School also spoke to the press about Government investment and economic growth, with his comments featured in The Times and Bloomberg. 

September 

As campaigning stepped up in the USA ahead of the November election, Keele experts were in hot demand for their expertise on US Politics. Dr Jon Parker spoke to Newsweek for a number of stories including analysis of the Trump v Harris presidential debate, and the possibility of a US Government shutdown ahead of the election. Locally, he also spoke to BBC Radio Stoke, Shropshire, and Hereford and Worcester about the debate. 

Professor Abigail Locke, Head of School for Psychology, also featured prominently in the media in September, speaking to BBC Midlands Today about parents banning children from having smartphones until they reach a certain age, sharing her expertise on the psychology of parenting. 

Elsewhere, Dr Afshin Shahi spoke to TRT World's flagship programme The Newsmakers, discussing recent attacks in Lebanon by Israeli forces, while Lewis Endlar in Keele Business School published a Conversation article about the launch of Apple's latest iPhone 16. It was republished on Singapore's Channel News Asia, Argentinian news website La Prensa, and Ireland's RTE, and Lewis was also interviewed by Canadian radio about his article. 

October 

As tensions ramped up in the Middle East in October, Dr Afshin Shahi featured on BBC Newsnight twice discussing the escalation of events in Lebanon with Iran firing missiles at Israel, and commenting on the situation in Lebanon and Israel/Iran's involvement. 

We also secured coverage in The Guardian in October for research led by Dr Najmul Haider in Life Sciences, looking at increasing rates of Dengue virus infection around the world. The story was subsequently covered by the Daily Star, and Bangladeshi title The Asian Age.  

October also saw the reveal of the new Labour government’s long anticipated first Budget, with Dr Nick O’ Donovan giving his predictions to the "i", before giving his reaction after the Budget to a number of regional radio stations. 

The Daily Express also published a listicle feature of tips to solve low mood, which referenced research by Dr Alex Scott from 2021 looking at the link between sleep and mental health. The feature also appeared in print in the Sunday Express, Sunday Mirror, and Sunday People, as well as across Reach PLC’s regional press network throughout the month. 

November 

November was a huge month for coverage of Keele research co-authored by Dr Jacco van Loon looking at the first photograph taken of a dying star outside our galaxy, with coverage on hundreds of titles around the world including CNN, The Guardian, New Scientist, Mail Online, the New York Times, Mashable, The Independent, ABC News, Der Spiegel, Die Welt, and BBC Sky at Night Magazine.  

Following Donald Trump’s re-election at the start of the month, Keele experts shared their expertise on US Politics right across the media, from Dr Jon Herbert speaking to local radio including BBC Radio Shropshire, to Dr Jon Parker sharing his thoughts with Newsweek about not only Donald Trump’s election, but also his picks for senior members of his team. 

In other news, BBC News online and The Independent covered research led by the Open University and Keele’s Dr Sara Vestergren into the psychology of the crowds who queued to pay their respects to the Queen in 2022, and Dr Colin Rigby from KBS spoke to the Associated Press about Heathrow airport using AI in its air traffic control operations, which was featured in Euronews. 

December 

Emeritus Professor Robert Ladrech shared his expertise in French politics with the national media following a vote to oust French Prime Minister Michel Barnier, with his comments featured in both Sky News and The Independent's coverage of the vote. Professor Mamas Mamas also spoke to The Independent about patients being put at risk due to a backlog in NHS cardiology services.

Finally, rounding out the year, we celebrated the planting of the 300th cherry tree in our campus’ world-famous collection, with a story on BBC News and BBC Midlands Today about the ceremony to commemorate the occasion which was attended by guests from the Japanese embassy in London. 

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Thank you to all of our experts who have engaged with the media in 2024!