The University of Nottingham has recently welcomed a number of high profile international visitors to campus as part of our commitment to international research collaboration and being a globally engaged university.

On Tuesday 28 March the Indonesian Deputy Minister for Environment and Forestry, Dr Alue Dohong, was welcomed to campus at a reception dinner in the Trent Building.

His visit builds on the university’s UK-Indonesia partnership and follows our delegation to Indonesia led by Vice-Chancellor Professor Shearer West in October when the country hosted the G20 leadership summit.

The evening provided opportunities for academics and research groups to showcase their research, as well as strengthening our relationship with Indonesia and enhancing the university’s reputation in the region.

Discussions focused on land use and the natural environment and explored potential areas for collaboration to decrease carbon emissions and increase carbon absorption in Indonesia.

Kenya’s High Commissioner, His Excellency Mr Manoah Esipisu, also attended an event on Monday 27 March on campus with the Kenya Society London, of which the university is a member.

The event provided a high profile opportunity to showcase research at the university that is particularly relevant to Kenya, including presentations on research into ethical mining from Professor Judy Muthuri, oncology from Professor Yashwant Mahida, and bioscience from Professor Levi Yant.

The Kenya Showcase event

Professor Robert Mokaya OBE, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement delivered the keynote speech and the High Commissioner spoke about the priorities for Kenya, including a focus on medicine and building hospitals.

On Monday 13 March, the university also welcomed the Cuban ambassador to the UK, Her Excellency Bárbara Montalvo Álvarez. This visit was part of a launch event for the Cuban archive of the Hennessy Collection of the Centre for Research on Cuba.

The Hennessy Collection features thousands of Cuban books, including publications in many disciplines that are not publicly accessible anywhere else in the world outside Cuba.

Reflecting on the recent visits, Professor Robert Mokaya OBE said: “At Nottingham our vision is to be a university without borders, where we embrace the opportunities presented by a changing world, and where ambitious people and a creative culture enable us to change the world for the better.

“It has been a pleasure to host our recent visitors from Indonesia, Cuba and my own country of Kenya to share that vision and progress conversations to identify areas for research collaboration to help address some of the world’s most pressing problems.”