19 February 2026
Academics, staff and students have celebrated their engagement with media at the University of Reading’s fourth annual Hitting the Headlines event.
Hosted by Vice-Chancellor Professor Robert Van de Noort, the gathering recognised those at theUniversity of Reading who helped to shape public understanding, share their discoveries, and tell stories with journalists and the media over the past year.
View a video showreel showing some of the experts from the University of Reading interviewed on TV in 2025: Hitting the Headlines 2026
Across 2025, coverage highlights included:
Coverage reached every corner of the world, with the United States generating the most mentions of any single country at 8,918, followed by the United Kingdom at 7,456
Academics from the School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences led the way, accounting for 5,455 media mentions, while colleagues in Biological Sciences generated 1,098.
Almost half (49%) of all proactive media opportunities in 2025 featured women, up from the previous year and the highest level recorded.
University experts wrote 60 articles for The Conversation in 2025, attracting more than 1.3 million views.
Following an introduction from Vice-Chancellor, Professor Robert Van de Noort, guests heard from editors of the University of Reading student magazine Spark, revivedin print by students in 2025 following a pause in production following the pandemic.
Ben Spencer, science and environment editor at The Sunday Times, spoke to the audience of academics, journalistsand communications professionals about the challenges and opportunities facing science reporters in 2026, before taking questions from the floor.
The event also celebrated Reading’s rich history through media coverage from the past 100 years, as the University celebrates its centenary in 2026. With help from University Archivist Dr Guy Baxter, guests had the opportunity to readthrougharchived newspaper cuttings highlighting the University of Reading in the past.
Professor Van de Noort said: “For 100 years, the University of Reading has been producing research and expertise that captures the world's attention
“The thousands of timesthat the University and its people were featured in the media in 2025 continues a long and proud tradition of engaging openly with the public and helping people make sense of the world around them. As we look ahead to our next century as a University, I have no doubt that tradition will only grow stronger."
We are in the process of finalising our postgraduate taught courses for 2027/28 entry. In the meantime, you can view our 2026/27 courses.
