Last week, the University of Nottingham was delighted to welcome delegations from member institutions of the European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU). It’s the first time we have hosted colleagues from the consortium since becoming an ECIU member at the start of this year.

The ECIU is the leading international consortium of research intensive universities, with collective emphasis on innovation, creativity and societal impact, driving the development of a knowledge-based economy.

Our membership of the ECIU signifies that we hold a strong commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship. It also demonstrates that we are drivers of the regional development and innovation agenda, that we provide excellence in research, and more.

The first meeting of the week, on Tuesday 10 October, saw us welcome Professor Thom Palstra, the Rector Magnificus of the University of Twente, and representatives of the University of Twente’s Students Union. The group met with University of Nottingham academics to discuss topics such as internationalisation, Brexit, research management our Beacons of Excellence. They also met with their counterparts at our Student Union.

Later in the week, a meeting of the Entrepreneurship and Societal Impact of Research (ESIR) group took place involving some 14 representatives from the member institutions of ECIU.

And finally, on Thursday 12 October we welcomed our final ECIU visitors of the week — The Vice Rectors of Research — who met with us to discuss our research and expertise in Aerospace, discussions on talent management, academic workload and ECIU projects.

Speaking about Nottingham’s role in the ECIU, Professor Nick Miles, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement at the University of Nottingham, explained:

“The University of Nottingham is a pioneer in international education. Like ECIU we believe that innovation, creativity and societal impact can drive growth and we have enjoyed the opportunity to share best practice with our international colleagues this week.”