Research Centres & Groups

Western is committed to nurturing a culture of research excellence and innovation. To build on the efforts of individual scholars, the university encourages the formation of collaborative research entities (groups, centres, institutes), both within and across traditional disciplinary boundaries. The goal is to support more complex models of research that aim to address a wide array of challenging topics of investigation.

Research Centres

Collaborative and typically non-departmental research entities that undertake collaborative, multi- and interdisciplinary research and scholarship with national and international impact, but their size, breadth and scope, and/or operational requirements do not warrant research institute status. Their scope is generally internal to the faculty that recognizes it as a centre, but membership often cross two or more faculties.

Research Groups/Units

Entities that consists of a number of investigators informally organized within - and recognized by - a department, school and/or faculty with shared research objectives, and possibly shared facilities and funds. Groups form, grow, and dissolve on a relatively short time scale, although, in some cases, they can also be stable for relatively long time periods.

*Please note some names reflect legacy naming conventions and do not conform to above-mentioned definitions or institutional polices.*