Research Impact & Knowledge Exchange
Designing the bridge between research and practice — through writing, briefings, public-facing outputs and partnerships that move evidence into decisions.
Nikolett Puskás, PhD
Research that takes shape in the world.
I help universities, communities, cultural organisations and public institutions translate complex research into accessible tools, workshops, games, exhibitions, publications and policy-relevant insights.
Selected partners & affiliations
- UCL
- Utrecht University
- Camden Council
- UN-Habitat
- LSE Cities
- American University of Beirut
- Nation Station
What I do
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Three overlapping practices.
Across academic, civic and cultural settings, my work moves from question to artefact — research that is usable, participatory and grounded in place.
Participatory Design & Public Engagement
Co-creating with residents, students and partners through workshops, urban games, zines and embodied methods that surface lived knowledge.
Urban Ecology & Just Transformations
Working at the intersection of nature-based solutions, place-based prosperity and community wellbeing — across Beirut, Budapest, London and beyond.
Featured projects
Selected work, 2018–present.
A cross-section of academic, civic and cultural collaborations.
JUPITA
A transdisciplinary community of practice for researchers working on Justice, Power and Transformative Action in Sustainability — building shared methods, reflections and outputs across projects.
UnBox
A tangible toolkit and game-like journey through metaphors — making collaborative research processes legible and shareable for transdisciplinary teams.
The Good Life Game — Camden
A board-game-based engagement format commissioned by Camden Council to co-create indicators of "the good life" with residents across distinct participant groups.
GRAINS at Nation Station
A rooftop urban-agriculture project at a grassroots Beirut organisation — building 65.68 m² of productive growing space on an approximately US$6,000 budget through DIY, participatory methods after the August 2020 blasts.
Performing Planet Activism: Our Place in the Game
A community-based research-to-performance project with residents of Kings Crescent Estate and artist Hector Dyer — funded by UCL Performing Planet Activism (£8,000) and producing a co-created zine, short film and museum exhibition.
MOVE Beirut!
A community wellbeing programme in the wake of the August 2020 blasts, weaving Muay Thai practice with reflective workshops on body, breath and recovery.
Collaborative Infrastructures · Nisba Framework
A doctoral research programme producing a participatory framework — Nisba — for designing just, ecological and transformative urban infrastructures with communities in Budapest and Beirut.
Selected publications
Peer-reviewed and public-facing.
2025
Engaging with co-production: reflections from doctoral researchers.
In Co-production knowledge in action: emancipatory strategies for urban equality, UCL Press.
2024
Collaborative infrastructures for just, ecological and transformative urban design.
Doctoral dissertation, UCL.
2023
A collaborative research manifesto! An early career response to uncertainties.
International Journal of Social Research Methodology.
2021
Assessing deeper levels of participation in nature-based solutions in urban landscapes.
Landscape and Urban Planning, 210.
Get in touch
Looking for a researcher, facilitator or collaborator?
I'm available for research-impact roles, participatory engagement, workshop design, urban-ecology consulting and speaking.