16th UCL Risk & Disaster Reduction annual conference
- English
Overview
Two centuries ago, UCL was founded on the edge of London with a radical vision: education open to all, regardless of background. As we mark UCL’s bicentenary, the Department of Risk and Disaster Reduction invites you to explore how cities worldwide can confront emerging risks and build more equitable, resilient futures.
This one-day conference — held during London Climate Action Week (20–28 June 2026) — brings together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers working across the full spectrum of disaster risk: from infrastructure and multi-hazard modelling to humanitarian response, community resilience, and the ethics of artificial intelligence in crisis management.
The programme features a keynote address, a plenary panel on Responsible Intelligence, and afternoon sessions spanning engineering, social science, and an explorative hackathon for reimagining future cities.
Whether your work focuses on physical hazards, social vulnerability, or the governance of risk, this conference offers a space to share insights and shape how cities anticipate, adapt to, and reimagine their relationship with uncertainty.
Keynote speaker
Loretta Hieber Girardet
Chief of Risk Knowledge, Monitoring and Capacity‑Development Branch
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)
Registration
£10 registration fee includes:
- access to all plenary and panel sessions.
- lunch, refreshments and an evening drinks reception.
- an optional poster display (UCL RDR students and external submissions)
- the opportunity to apply for the afternoon hackathon.
The registration fee is waived for current UCL RDR staff and students.
Poster display
We invite UCL RDR students and selected contributors to submit posters on themes related to:
- cities of the future.
- urban risk.
Please apply and submit your poster here by 1 June 2026.
Who should attend?
- Academics and researchers
- Practitioners in disaster risk, climate resilience, and humanitarian response
- Policymakers and government partners
- Urban planners and engineers
- Students across UCL and beyond
- Organisations working on climate, resilience, and urban futures
More about the UCL RDR annual conference
As UCL celebrates 200 years since its founding as London’s first university, the 16th UCL RDR annual conference takes its place within the UCL200 programme as a flagship showcase of research, innovation, and cross‑sector collaboration. This year’s theme — Cities of the future: Risks, resilience and reimagination — reflects UCL’s enduring commitment to shaping resilient, inclusive, and sustainable urban environments. Bicentenary celebrations begin in February 2026 and continue throughout the year.