Campus News

Honorary degrees – nominations now open

November 18th, 2021

Each year, the university awards a small number of honorary degrees to people who have made an outstanding contribution in their chosen field.

Nominations for this year’s honorary degrees are now open for possible recipients of awards at future degree congregations in Nottingham, Malaysia and China. Staff and students at the university are invited to put forward their suggestions.

The award of an honorary degree is a significant marker of prestige at the university and the process of selection is therefore taken extremely seriously.

This year, Faculties have been invited to give more input into the consideration of nominations. Colleagues based in Faculties have two options, they can submit their nominations either direct to their Faculty or directly to the Governance Team.  Faculty-based colleagues will be contacted directly by the Faculty to invite nominations.

Professional services and other colleagues based outside Faculties are invited to submit their nominations direct to the Governance Team. You can find more information and the online form on the Honorary Degrees SharePoint site where you will also find Criteria for Honorary Degrees.

We would expect our university values to be reflected in those we recognise with the award of honorary degrees and we very much want to receive nominations which enable us to achieve better representation from under-represented groups

The call for nominations is now open and the deadline for nominations is Monday 20 December 2021.

If you have any queries or need further information, please contact the Governance Team (governance@nottingham.ac.uk).

Colleagues are reminded that each stage of the process is confidential and we ask you not to contact the nominee at any stage. The nominee should be unaware of the proposal. The Governance Team will manage initial communication with successful nominees.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Announcements, News | Comments Off on Honorary degrees – nominations now open

Professor Nick Besley – 1972-2021

November 17th, 2021

The university is saddened to hear of the death of Professor Nick Besley, Professor of Theoretical Chemistry in the School of Chemistry.

Professor Besley worked for the university for 21 years, making major advances to the understanding of how light interacts with different types of molecules, providing a crucial link between theory and experiment.

Shortly after joining the university in 1999, Nick was awarded a prestigious EPSRC Advanced Research Fellowship in 2002, eventually becoming a leading expert in modelling the spectroscopy of core electrons with density functional theory.

His contribution and the impact of his work is reflected in his obituary in the Guardian and the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Professor Nick Besley – 1972-2021

Professor Jonathan Hirst, a colleague at the School of Chemistry, said his sudden death came as “a complete shock to his colleagues and students”.

“A gentleman and an astute scholar, Nick should have been at the mid-point of his career,” he said.

“He was a great colleague and dear friend.”

The university’s School of Chemistry is instituting The Nick Besley Memorial Prize in his honour.

Members of the Q-Chem Board – which relates to quantum chemistry software – have also created The Nick Besley Award in his name.

Prof Hirst added: “Nick’s students, colleagues and scientific collaborators will remember him as a kind-hearted, gentle soul, with an impact that will endure through the students he mentored and his published research papers.”

Tags: , ,
Posted in Announcements, News | Comments Off on Professor Nick Besley – 1972-2021

Nottingham Student Experience Survey – now open

November 17th, 2021

The Nottingham Student Experience Survey opens today (Monday 15 November).

The survey is open to all undergraduate students and is an opportunity to provide feedback on what we’re doing right or what they think we could do better. 

Students will receive a link to their university email address. Alternatively, the survey can be accessed using the below link and a student ID number. 

https://bit.ly/NSES21 

The deadline for completing the survey is Thursday 16 December.  

All who complete the survey will be entered into a prize draw to win a £200 shopping voucher. The winner will be notified by Friday 7 January 2022. 

Staff can support the survey by encouraging students to get involved. The following folder contains promotional resources, including lecture slides and social media posts:  

Promotional materials 

Please do share these where you are able. 

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in News | Comments Off on Nottingham Student Experience Survey – now open

Excel in Science: in conversation with National Geographic Explorers

November 17th, 2021

Excel in Science will again team up with the National Geographic Society to bring another Virtual Explorer Event to your screens. This year we hear from three amazing explorers from diverse backgrounds and in very different areas of science. They will talk about how they came to be National Geographic Explorers and what their research is all about.

Wednesday 1 December, from 5pm
Register for the session

We are excited to hear from:
Prem Gill: Prem is polar conservationist and PHD candidate leading the “Seals from Space” project with the Scott Polar Research Institute, British Antarctic Survey, and WWF, using high-resolution satellite imagery to study polar seals and their sea ice habitats. With the BBC, Prem is a researcher helping to produce the landmark wildlife series Frozen Planet. As a previous guest lecturer on AI and immersive technology for Oxford University’s biodiversity, conservation and management MSc, Prem led a workshop and public event on AR/VR and data science for conservation with the Digital Catapult and the Alan Turing Institute. Prem is also founder of Polar Impact, a network of racial and ethnic minorities in polar research, where he spearheads projects to retain talent from non-traditional backgrounds within polar and conservation science, and change the face of polar Exploration.

Priscilla Alpizar: Priscilla is a bat ecologist and conservationist with a passion for informal environmental education. She has been working with bats for 15 years, focusing on the impact that agricultural landscapes have on these animals. Priscilla is currently finishing her PhD at Ulm University, focusing on the effects that banana plantations have on native nectar-feeding bats. She is also a member of the Costa Rican bat conservation program and the Latin American and Caribbean network for bat conservation. Priscilla firmly believes that conservation cannot be complete without education, so she always complements her academic work with workshops and informal environmental education programs. She is currently also working as an environmental planning engineer in Germany.

Gergana Daskalova: Gergana is a global change ecologist fascinated by how humans are reshaping the planet’s biodiversity. The key aim of Gergana’s research is to determine what are the sources of the complex patterns of biodiversity change observed over time around the world. From forest cover change around the world to climate warming in the Arctic and more, Gergana is investigating how and why earth’s biota is changing across the anthropocene. Gergana is also the creator of the coding club initiative which has been delivering free training in statistics and coding online and in-person for over five years. She also has a passion for photography and videography and has spent years taking photos of birds and landscape around her home village Tyurkmen in Bulgaria. Gergana is starting a Schmidt Science Fellowship at the start of 2022 for which she will channel her personal experience of seeing villages get more depopulated over time into a research project on land abandonment and its potential for conservation.

Excel in Science is a new programme that has launched within the School of Life Sciences and aims to support our students and to tackle the fact that BAME students and those from disadvantaged backgrounds are under-represented in funded postgraduate research and hence remain under-represented in academia as a whole.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Announcements, News | 4 Comments »

USS pension – scheme member consultation

November 16th, 2021

Colleagues are reminded that the USS pension is currently consulting all scheme members on the proposed changes to the scheme.

The proposals would avoid significant increases in contribution rates for members and employers, whilst maintaining the scheme’s Defined Benefit /Defined Contribution hybrid model to provide members’ retirement incomes.

The consultation is your opportunity to register your views on the proposed changes and remains open until Monday 17 January 2022. You can find it at www.ussconsultation2021.co.uk/members.

You will need your member number and National Insurance number to log in. However, if you’re new to USS, and do not have your member number yet, you will still be able to register on the website and leave your response.

The consultation website has more details on the background to the consultation, the proposed changes and a modeller to help you see how your pension would change if the proposals are implemented.

Further information is published at USS resources and more background to the 2020 scheme valuation is published at USS 2020 Valuation.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Announcements, News | Comments Off on USS pension – scheme member consultation

Staff festive parties allowance 2021

November 16th, 2021

The university staff party allowance is available again this year to help staff meet the costs of celebrating the 2021 festive season with their colleagues.

The £10 per person staff party allowance can be used to subsidise seasonal team celebrations either on or off campus. Your celebrations could be on campus with EMCC or off-campus in the city’s amazing array of cafes, bars and restaurants.

Please note that the allowance should only be used for recognised staff team parties or dinners and cannot cover multiple events or informal, individual celebrations.

On Campus

The team at the De Vere East Midlands Conference Centre and Orchard Hotel, have developed some exciting festive options so that staff can enjoy the season with colleagues.

Click here for further information, including booking details, or contact De Vere East Midlands Conference Centre via email or on tel: 0115 876 0900 (option 2).

How to claim the allowance

If you are keeping your festive celebration on campus, please book via the De Vere East Midlands Conference Centre and Orchard Hotel, stating a University budget project code from which to pay the allowance.

If you wish to celebrate off-campus, please contact your local Purchasing Support team, who will be able to provide further information and may be able to arrange direct payment to the venue as a deposit to secure the booking.

If you have already booked your celebration and wish to claim the allowance, you can make a personal expenses claim through Concur under Entertainment (Employee Annual Function), providing a receipt.

Please note all costs will be classed as staff costs and will come from operational budgets.

Wherever and however you celebrate, please remember to socialise safely, following Government guidelines and being respectful of others’ choices. You can view our current campus safety guidelines here.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Announcements, News | 8 Comments »

Breaking the mould: sculpture by women since 1945

November 16th, 2021

Lakeside Arts are currently hosting the Arts Council Collections’ Touring Exhibition, Breaking the Mould: Sculpture by Women Since 1945 in their Djanogly Gallery.

Open to view until Sunday 9 January 2022, Breaking the Mould seeks to redefine post-war British Sculpture by representing the work by women. Spanning more than seventy years and exploring the work of fifty sculptors, the exhibition provides a redress to the many accounts of British sculpture that have marginalised or airbrushed their work out of art history altogether.

The works selected for Breaking the Mould represent artists who have challenged ingrained notions of sculpture as a ‘male occupation’ by embracing new materials, subjects and approached. The Arts Council Collection’s 75th anniversary celebrations.

With work from fifty women sculptors spanning more than 70 years, the exhibition explores the enormous contributions made by women to the field of modern and contemporary sculpture. It sets out to challenge the many accounts of British sculpture that have often marginalised women or even airbrushed their work out of the art historical canon altogether.
The fifty pieces on show range from sculpture to installation art using a wide range of materials including human hair, ceramic, paper, flowers and nylon tights.

The show also raises questions about the barriers that have existed for women in the world of sculpture – such as prejudice in art schools, the costs of materials and studio space and the pressures of raising children.

For those who would like to further their knowledge on the subject of female sculptors and ongoing research, Lakeside and the Arts Council Collection are hosting an informal Study Day on Saturday 4 December 2021 from 10am – 4pm.

It brings together a panel of leading artists, curators and scholars, including Sokari Douglas Camp and Curator and Art Writer for The Guardian and The Times Literary Supplement Naomi Polonsky, who will share their latest research and thinking.

There will also be opportunities to reflect on individual practices, collective breakthroughs and areas ripe for further investigation.

Participants can attend either in-person or online via Lakeside’s livestreaming service. Open to public and staff and students at the University of Nottingham.

Find out more about visiting the exhibition or the Study Day.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Announcements, News | Comments Off on Breaking the mould: sculpture by women since 1945

Staff Pay Awards 2021/2022: updated to confirm APM3, TS and O&F awards

November 16th, 2021

The university has announced details of staff pay increases and incremental progression awards for the new academic year 2021/22.

A significant proportion of university staff, who also receive an increment, will see combined increases of between 3.5% and 4.5%.

The awards also deliver significant enhancements for the lowest paid staff and include a further commitment to pay the equivalent of the latest Voluntary Living Wage when it is confirmed in November.

  • For research, teaching and APM grade 4-7 staff, the university will implement the national 1.5% cost of living increase. Where staff are also eligible for an increment this will result in a combined increase of between 3.5% and 4.5% from 1 August 2021. Increases will be paid in August salaries.
  • For APM grade 1-3 staff, Technical Services, Childcare Services and Operations & Facilities staff, the university has matched the national 1.5% increase and committed to pay our lowest paid staff a minimum hourly rate of £10 or the equivalent of the latest Voluntary Living Wage rate when it is confirmed on Monday 15 November – whichever is greater.  Where staff are also eligible for an increment this will result in a combined increase of between 4.5% and 5.1%. Increases will be paid in November salaries with back pay from 1 August 2021.

Details of salary scales are now available to view for all grades and job families.

Director of Human Resources Jaspal Kaur said: “Following the back payment of increments for 2020/21 in recent months, I hope that colleagues will welcome prompt implementation of the 2021/22 pay award and increments in time for the new academic year.

This year’s increases compare well with recent awards elsewhere in the public sector, where many public sector workers are subject to a pay freeze, and with the median pay award for the not-for-profit sector standing at 1.3%.”

The University of Nottingham undertakes annual pay negotiations on the cost of living increase through national collective bargaining led by UCEA for research, teaching and APM grade 4-7 staff; and local pay negotiations for APM grades 1-3, staff in Operations & Facilities, Technical Services and Childcare Services.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Announcements, News | 8 Comments »

UK National Threat Level raised

November 16th, 2021

Following the recent incident in Liverpool, the government’s Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) has taken the decision to raise the UK National Threat Level from ‘Substantial’, meaning an attack is likely, to ‘Severe’, meaning an attack is highly likely.

The decision has been driven by two terrorist incidents in the past month, reflecting the diverse, complex and volatile nature of the terrorist threat in the UK.

Whilst it is important to stress that this is not in response to any particular or specific threat to the city or the University of Nottingham, staff and students are asked to remain vigilant and be aware of police advice in the unlikely event you are caught up in an incident.

Find out more in the National Police Chiefs’ Council Stay Safe – Public Information Film.

Please also be aware of the university’s current travel guidelines [Workspace login required].

Tags: ,
Posted in Announcements, News | Comments Off on UK National Threat Level raised

Call for International Women’s Day 2022 funding now open

November 16th, 2021

Help us celebrate and recognise International Women’s Day 2022.

As part of the university’s ongoing commitment to EDI, we are inviting applications for the celebration of International Women’s Day which takes place on Tuesday 8 March 2022.

This funding initiative is designed to support multiple locally planned activities throughout March 2022.

Funding will be awarded to host local events or activities to a maximum of £200 with applications to be assessed by the International Women’s Day Programme Board.

Applicants are encouraged to seek matched by funding from another source (this could be the associated School/Department/Group or an external source).

For applications, please complete this form by Friday 14 January 2022.   

Applications should indicate how the local event or activity is connected to the EDI Strategic Delivery Plan and our Athena Swan objectives. Applicants are also encouraged to consider intersectionality of their events with our four inclusion focus areas for 2021/22:

  • Faith and Religion
  • Neurodiversity
  • Socio-economic equality
  • Parenting and caring responsibilities.

If your application involves face-to-face events, then please visit the University’s Coronavirus webpages as your main source of information and guidance.

For queries, please contact the EDI Coordinators. 

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Announcements, News | 2 Comments »