King's College London

Professor Cathy McIlwaine has been chosen to lead the expert panel assessing the quality of research from higher education providers in the fields of geography and environment.

She is one of just 34 academics chosen from across the UK’s Higher Education sector to lead a subject panel for the Research Excellence Framework (REF), and the first woman to be appointed to lead the Geography and Environmental Studies panel.

Joining King’s in 2017 as a Professor of Geography, her research revolves around issues of gender, poverty and violence in cities, especially in Latin America, and among migrants in London.

The latter focuses on low-paid migrant workers in general and specifically the Latin American community in relation to transnational livelihoods, citizenship and gendered violence.

She also became Vice Dean (Research) for the Faculty of Social Sciences and Public Policy (SSPP) in 2020 and was elected as a Fellow to the UK Academy of Social Sciences in 2022.

Professor McIlwaine also served as a sub-panel member representing Geography for the last REF in 2021.

“As a member of the REF2021 panel, I'm aware of the responsibility and the opportunities that the role confers. But I feel that my role as the Vice Dean Research in the Faculty of Social Science and Public Policy has provided me with the skills and tools to be an inclusive leader in the REF2029 arena,” she said.

Now undertaken every six years, the REF is used to help allocate around £2 billion per year of public funding for universities’ research.

The UK’s four higher education funding bodies, working with the REF Main Panel Chairs and Advisory Panel members, appoint the chairs and deputy chairs for the 34 expert sub-panels that will assess research in REF 2029.

The panel chairs and deputy chairs will lead their units of assessment through the criteria setting phase, beginning later this year, and on through to the final assessment.

They are now working to appoint their full panels, ensuring that membership reflects the full range of required expertise. These appointments will be announced in summer 2025.

REF Director Rebecca Fairbairn said: “I’m delighted to welcome this outstanding group to lead the REF 2029 sub-panels. Their deep expertise and broad perspectives will be central to building an assessment process that is fair, rigorous, and trusted by the research community. We have been working in partnership with the sector throughout this process, and I’m grateful to everyone who expressed interest – your engagement is what strengthens the credibility and value of the REF across our research landscape.”