Update from Professor Dame Jessica Corner

It has emerged from the Brexit deal that the UK can look forward to associating with Horizon Europe, the EU’s new €95.5bn framework programme for funding research and innovation.

UK organisations will be able to fully take part in Horizon Europe alongside EU states, and it is anticipated we will be able to respond to the first calls in spring.

Being able to participate on a level playing field and as an equal partner with fellow European research institutions is wonderful news and tremendously important in these challenging times. Find out more about Horizon Europe

Supporting the fight against Covid

I’m also delighted to share further news of how our research is providing a glimpse of light.

The university is supporting the NHS Covid-19 vaccinations programme, with two local vaccination services opening across our campuses and staff and students stepping up to help administer the vaccine to patients.

This week the doors have opened at a new vaccination service based on King’s Meadow Campus, which is set to be one of the largest sites in Nottinghamshire providing the vaccine to patients from across the city and wider county.

It follows the launch of the first university-supported vaccination site at Cripps Health Centre on University Park Campus on Saturday 9 January, where the team has recruited 40 university staff and students to administer the jab. Incredibly, so keen were people to support the programme, they had more than 770 applications in just 72 hours.

The university has also played a key role in leading the distribution of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to members of the public across the UK.

The regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) reviewed the data collected by researchers, including those based at the University of Nottingham Health Service, which played a crucial role in the study and led to the vaccine being authorised for widespread use.

Meanwhile,  a team led by Professor Silke Weinfurtner of the School of Physics has been awarded £4.3m by UK Research and Innovation to use cutting-edge quantum technologies to transform our understanding of the universe and black holes.

And Helen Kennedy, Professor of Creative and Cultural Industries in the Department of Cultural, Media and Visual Studies, and Professor Steve Benford from Computer Science have secured £1.6m from the European Regional Development Fund to partner with Nottingham Trent University and explore how digital and immersive technologies can support the local creative and cultural sector.

Our commitment to your safety

As the third national lockdown continues, a reminder that we should continue research from home wherever possible, but where research cannot reasonably be carried out at home, it can continue in our Covid-secure campus buildings, in line with government guidance.

While tremendous work is keeping our buildings Covid-secure, we must also all take personal responsibility to keep each other safe:  isolate if you suspect you have come into contact with the infection, follow guidance on social distancing, wear a face mask and wash your hands regularly, and follow your building’s protocols.

Please continue to act responsibly. At such a critical and worrying stage of the pandemic, thoughtful behaviour and care for others has never been so important.

Covid testing on campus

For further reassurance on a personal level, please remember that Covid-19 testing is available for staff. If you are visiting campus to carry out or support research, you are strongly advised to be tested once a week.

Please visit our pages on Covid-19 testing. All staff, including postgraduate research students, can access the university’s testing service at one of our dedicated testing stations. Staff working from home can also access the testing service, but please do not take any unnecessary risks in travelling to our testing stations.

More information on looking after your health

Read Dame Jessica’s full update