{"id":78,"date":"2026-04-22T16:35:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T15:35:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/centre-for-environmental-policy\/?p=78"},"modified":"2026-04-22T16:35:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T15:35:21","slug":"my-first-year-as-a-cep-visiting-professor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/centre-for-environmental-policy\/2026\/04\/22\/my-first-year-as-a-cep-visiting-professor\/","title":{"rendered":"My first year as a CEP Visiting Professor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gary Kass, Visiting Professor in Sustainability Science, Policy and Practice<\/em><\/h3>\n

Origins<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"Throughout my forty years working in the environment and sustainability space, I have enjoyed and relished an informal and highly valuable association with CEP. In November 2024, Rob Fish, Jem Woods and I got together to discuss how I could be of further help to CEP since my \u2018retirement\u2019 from the UK public sector.\u00a0 After a few further discussions, we formalised my association with CEP and I was formally appointed as a Visiting Professor in March 2025.<\/p>\n

So, I\u2019ve now completed my first year in the role and I want to thank Kate Grimwood, as guardian of the excellent CEP blog, for the opportunity to share some thoughts about how this year has gone and set out some ideas for where I hope I can continue to support CEP in future years.<\/p>\n

My First Year<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When I started, I asked Jem what expectations he had of me\u2026he said, \u201cwhatever you want, really\u2026but maybe have some conversations with colleagues, do a bit of teaching and supervise a few projects\u201d. So, I\u2019ve had a pretty free rein – as long as I don\u2019t cause too much damage! As you\u2019d expect, my first year has been spent growing my awareness of the breadth and depth of expertise within CEP, and I\u2019m still learning.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been meeting colleagues, some of whom I knew already, some I\u2019d admired from afar, and some I didn\u2019t know, but I\u2019m glad I do now! And I look forward to getting to know those I\u2019ve not met yet.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve supported thinking about strategic and cross-cutting issues, such as early preparations for the upcoming Research Excellence Framework exercise and strengthening support for CEP\u2019s research clusters. And I\u2019ve been involved in developing specific research ideas, contributing to funding proposals, and supporting current research projects.<\/p>\n

A recent experience was participating in an event at the White City campus focusing on clean air which pulled together a broad range of topics and stakeholders in a really great example of trans-disciplinary sustainability science!<\/p>\n

And I\u2018ve had the truly pleasurable experience of delivering some teaching on sustainability science, competencies and capacities and on the workings of the interfaces between science, policy & practice, commenting on some frankly brilliant group projects and advising Master\u2019s students and PhD candidates on their work.<\/p>\n

But beyond our immediate activities, I\u2019ve been flying the flag for CEP elsewhere within Imperial and further afield – always making sure to keep my promise to Jem not to cause too much damage! I\u2019ve held discussions and participated in activities involving other universities, businesses, policy makers, learned societies, professional bodies and civil society groups. \u00a0I\u2019m particularly proud to be a member of the Climate and Sustainability Community of Interest convened by the Royal Academy of Engineering\u2019s National Engineering Policy Centre.\u00a0 I\u2019ve had a few papers and reports published and given some external presentations and generally been singing the praises of the great work and superb people we have.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n

With four years remaining in my current position, the opportunities are still growing. Not a day goes by without a new contact being made, an existing contact being strengthened and an old contact being rekindled.<\/p>\n

My main ambition is to help CEP thrive through sustainability science, strengthening links with policy and with practice. This falls into a few core ambitions:<\/p>\n

Chiefly, I\u2019m keen to help grow our capabilities to act on sustainability through embedding systems and futures thinking, collaboration, interdisciplinary working and strategic capability. But also helping to strengthen the conditions that enable these ambitions.<\/p>\n

More widely, I\u2019m keen to support CEP in enhancing our position within IC and beyond, fostering constructive discussions and working with colleagues on how we imagine and achieve sustainable futures and strengthen the links between science, policy and practice.<\/p>\n

So, it has been and remains, an absolute privilege and a real pleasure to be a Visiting Professor in CEP, and I have really enjoyed and valued my first year. I want to say a big thanks to those I\u2019ve already met and worked with and look forward to meeting and working with many others over the next year – and beyond.<\/p>\n

Please get in touch: g.kass@imperial.ac.uk<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gary Kass, Visiting Professor in Sustainability Science, Policy and Practice<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1865,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,32,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-78","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-policy","category-research","category-sustainability"],"yoast_head":"\nMy first year as a CEP Visiting Professor - Centre for Environmental Policy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/centre-for-environmental-policy\/2026\/04\/22\/my-first-year-as-a-cep-visiting-professor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"My first year as a CEP Visiting Professor - 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