The Digital Core project team would like to thank everyone that took part in the naming competition for the university’s new HR, Finance and Procurement system.

A competition was launched over the summer to find a suitable name for our new HR, Finance and Procurement system. Activities that will be completed using the new system include accessing payslips, booking annual leave, recording financial transactions and sickness absence, undertaking staff recruitment, completing Appraisal and Development Conversations (ADC), claiming expenses and making purchases.

An astounding 540 entries were received from staff across the university. A judging panel comprising representatives from the Brand, User Experience, Internal Communications, HR, Finance, Procurement and DTS teams had the tough job of selecting a name that best reflected the nature of the system.

The name that has been selected for the system is UniCore.

“We are very grateful to everyone that submitted their name suggestions for our new system. It hasn’t been easy to select a name as we received many excellent suggestions,” highlights Sally Blackamore, Director of Financial Control.

“UniCore was chosen as the best name for the system as it is a combination of the words ‘university’ and ‘core’, portraying that it will be a central university system that brings together our HR, Finance and Procurement processes. This name is also short and easy to remember.”

Five members of staff submitted this great name suggestion – these lucky winners will each receive a High Street voucher:

• Martyn Barrett, Senior Technician, Civil Engineering
• Rujuta Naik, Practice Support Teaching Assistant, School of Health Sciences
• Rundong Yan, Assistant Professor, Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering
• Alina Ungureanu, Communications and Content Officer, Student Recruitment
• Selin Palali, Postgraduate Researcher, School of Chemistry

As highlighted in the previous Digital Core update, UniCore is expected to be rolled out across the university in May 2024. The new system will play a key role in enabling our People and Culture and Digital Strategic Development Plans, and ensuring we can deliver our Assurance Framework. Over 45 dated existing IT systems will be replaced by UniCore; a modern, reliable and secure system that can be accessed using laptops, tablets and mobile phones.

The Digital Core project team will be running demonstrations over the coming months to highlight how the new HR, Finance and Procurement processes will work in practice. Training for the new system is expected to commence from February 2024.

For further information regarding the Digital Core project, please visit the SharePoint site or email digitalcore@nottingham.ac.uk.